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.
“I just didn’t want the hype to end,” added her friend, John Maroney.
Earlier, tens of thousands of Australians had crammed into live sites and stadiums to watch, and it seemed like every pub was packed out.
It was sunny and crisp in Sydney on Wednesday, with a sense of anticipation in the air as the sun set. What felt like every second worker in the city had some green and gold – be it an Australian jersey, a scarf or a hat – and by 4pm, pubs throughout the central business district began to fill.
Matildas merchandise had been hard to come by this week. Scarves remained in high demand, with sales on eBay up more than 2,600%.
Over in Circular Quay, England fans had chosen to congregate before heading to Olympic Park for the match.
Emily Hamlin was outside a pub wedged between the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The 26-year-old had travelled out to Australia for the World Cup solo, but found an instant connection with fellow Ipswichian Ian Wallis.
“It’s like going to Wembley but not being the home team,” said Hamlin.
Wallis had initially been underwhelmed with the sense of occasion at the beginning of the tournament.
“As it’s gone on they’ve certainly embraced it, it feels like everyone’s on board now … I don’t think they’re all going to be as happy after tonight,” he predicted.
Feeling like she was in the minority was Charlotte Samuelson, from south-west London. The chief operating officer of World Rugby was out in Australia with her husband and two daughters, partly for work, but equally to support the Lionesses.
“You can feel we’re very much in the minority here, but people are so friendly and I think that’s what’s so nice about the women’s game” she said. “Football fans can have a bad rep in men’s game, but this is much more welcoming.”
The organiser of the Free Lionesses support group said they had managed to organise a ticket for just about every fan that approached them – despite rumours desperate Australian fans had been using the English support code to access their tickets.
However there were plenty of locals who couldn’t get tickets. Many even struggled to enter fan zones, which packed out hours before the game began at 8pm local time.
Not the result we wanted, but a big thank you to the 23,838 fans who turned out tonight. 💚💛 pic.twitter.com/ICM0CbZv0E
— AAMI Park (@AAMIPark) August 16, 2023
In Melbourne, fans twice knocked down barriers blocking them from entering Federation Square, which hit its 10,000 capacity an hour before kick-off. After pushing down the fences, hundreds then flowed into the already packed square, where flares were lit before a ball had even been kicked.
Chris Walkley and 12-year-old daughter Kalie arrived at 2pm, worried they’d miss out on a good spot.
Meanwhile, Amarlie Lilley finished work early to make sure she nabbed a position.
“It’s great not to be the only one at work that’s staying up at 4am and watching things over on the other side of the world,” she said.
Those who couldn’t fit into Fed Square went to the nearby Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, where just shy of 24,000 fans watched the match on its live screens.
In Sydney, the official Fifa fan festival next to Darling Harbour reached its 5,000 capacity by 6:30pm and thousands more piled into the Sydney Football Stadium, a smaller venue in the east of the city that had hosted earlier matches in the World Cup.
And so it was during the match, the streets in Sydney were eerily quiet, with a record TV audience glued to their sets. Most restaurants seemed closed or deserted, especially those without screens.
However, it was standing room only at most pubs, where excited crowds fell to a hush after the Matildas went down.
In Surry Hills, the Shakespeare Hotel projected the match on to the side of the building opposite it, and hundreds filled the joining laneway, Steel Street, to watch.
“It feels very European, doesn’t it?” said 27-year-old Felix, a Sydney local who said he wasn’t a football fan but had been swept up in the excitement for the Matildas.
But as England scored their second and third goals, those at the Shakespeare began cursing the English, and Australian social media feeds were flooded with pro-republican memes.
Stadiums and pubs emptied quickly as people headed home.
Back at Sydney Football Stadium, Maroney had his sights set on Saturday’s third-place playoff. “If we can win that, it’ll still be a big moment … it just can’t end like this.”
– With AAP
