‘Crushed’: Australian pubs and stadiums pack out only to see the Matildas fall to England in the Women’s World Cup

‘I just didn’t want the hype to end,’ … fans fall to a hush after the Matildas go down to the Lionesses in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

The wave of exhilaration that has swept up the nation over the past four weeks has come crashing down, on a night when England ended the dream.

“We just feel crushed really, that it’s over,” Sydneysider Hannah van der Velden told Guardian Australia from Sydney Football Stadium. Thousands gathered to watch a broadcast of the match being played at a different ground at the other end of the city.