Former Matilda claims Sam Kerr made two big mistakes in World Cup defeat by England after Australia captain went from hero to zero following stunning semi-final strike

Sam Kerr will ‘know’ she squandered two golden chances to send Australia through to the World Cup final, a former Matilda claims.

Kerr, 29, made a timely reminder of why she is the best player in the world after scoring a stunning goal for Australia in their semi-final defeat to England, hitting the back of the net from 25 yards out.

But after Lauren Hemp restored England’s one-goal lead, Kerr had two gilt-edged chances to level the scores again, only to squander them.

First, she failed to deliver a deft header from Mary Fowler’s superb cross, which was eventually misdirected. Moments later she shot an attempt over the bar from six meters away.

England quickly went to the other side and scored through Alessia Russo, putting the tie to bed.

And Elise Kellond-Knight said Kerr will be well aware that she should have cashed in on her chances.

‘Sam knows. I don’t want to talk about it too much – it was two crucial chances,” Kellond-Knight said on Channel 7.

“It could have gone another way tonight if (not for) a few inches in that game.

“On one of them, even if she had just left the ball… you could see her looking back saying, ‘I shouldn’t have touched that.'”

A deflated Tony Gustavsson was disappointed by Australia’s missed opportunities, as England made their chances count.

“Of course we’re going to analyze it,” he said. ‘At the moment it is primarily the conversion rate. It is conversion to opportunity. In the second half we are 12 to nine and they scored three goals. We almost scored two in the 83rd and 85th minutes. It’s one of those nights where they were more clinical in the finish.

“We learned a lot when we played them last time and they are a bit vulnerable in the transition. Their defense was very solid in the first half. I think it was two teams canceling each other out.

“They knocked out our substitution and very, very few chances in the first half. Then I think we loosened up a little bit in the second half.

“We told them at half-time to have more confidence on the ball and to play the way we can play. When we started doing that, we dominated the game, but unfortunately it didn’t pay off with enough goals.

“I’m glad the fans supported the players after the game. The reason they’re done is they’re proud of the players they’re proud of the players they leave everything out there.

“We promised each other that we would leave everything there and we did and they left it all there. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough tonight.’