Australia have downplayed a rivalry with England ahead of their World Cup semi-final clash with the Lionesses on Wednesday. The two nations share a storied sporting history across a number of sports, but on Monday two veteran Matildas hosed down any suggestion that the clash had any special significance in women’s football.
“I think obviously you see it in a lot of men’s competition, especially in cricket and rugby,” said goalkeeper Lydia Williams. “But for us we’ve had so many rivalries with other countries that we’ve played against. We’ve played against Brazil at every other World Cup [in the recent era]. You could say that about America, you could say that about so many other countries. So really for us it’s just a game.”
