Lauren Hemp hailed England as “a special team” and Ella Toone toasted the best shot of her life after the Lionesses reached their first World Cup final with a 3-1 victory over co-hosts Australia.

Hemp restored England’s lead in the second half, after Matildas captain Sam Kerr cancelled out Toone’s stunning opener, and provided the assist that allowed Alessia Russo to put the game away after 86 minutes.

England, who will face Spain in Sunday’s showdown in Sydney, are just one win away from securing the second major trophy in their history just under 13 months after becoming European champions at Wembley.

Player-of-the-match Hemp, who started every game of that triumph, said: “Oh my god, what a feeling. I feel like there are no words to describe what we all feel right now.

“It’s an unbelievable achievement, getting to a World Cup final. It’s every kid’s dream. I mean, I’ve got no words, I’m absolutely knackered right now. We’ve got a few days to recover but then we go again.

“We want to win this, obviously we’ve come so far now, so why not?

“I feel like as a team we have got such an inner-belief and also so much confidence as the group. No matter what happens on the outside, no matter who we come up against, every challenge we’ve managed to solve.

“I feel like this team is so special. You saw last year how successful we were. We want to do the same again and we want to go one step further.

“We have all got a dream. We’re pushing each other to be the best that we can and we know that whenever a player gets beaten by their opponent, we know there will be someone there, having each others’ backs, no matter what.”

World number four England have grown into this tournament since eking out a 1-0 win against Haiti, 49 places below them in FIFA’s global rankings, to open their campaign – sparking concerns about the Lionesses’ prowess in attack.

Russo and Hemp have netted three goals each in this tournament, equalling the contribution made by Chelsea forward Lauren James before she was sent off late in the second half of England’s victory over Nigeria in the last 16.

England have never had two different players score three or more goals at a single edition of the tournament before, with James also set to be available for Sunday’s final after serving the second match of her two-game suspension on Wednesday night.

That might put Toone’s chances of starting the final at risk, but the Manchester United midfielder could not have done any more to impress head coach Sarina Wiegman, lashing in a thunderous strike to set England on their way in Sydney.

“It fell straight to me in the box and I just thought ‘why not just smack it?’ Honestly, that’s the best shot I’ve hit in my life,” said Toone, who scored the opener in last summer’s Euro 2022 final triumph.

“Sometimes when you hit a ball, you just know I’ve caught that perfectly and I was like ‘wow, that was alright’. I think I knew as soon as it left my boot that it was going to end up in the back of the net.

“It seems to be I like the big stage in tournaments, but in tournament football it is often about taking those moments and it was my turn to do so tonight.

“I had my moment, it fell to me and I put it in the back of the net. Even if I hadn’t scored, I would still have done my job for this team, worked hard and did what I needed to do.

“When big moments fall to me in tournaments, I’ve taken them.”

England forward Lauren Hemp feels the Lionesses have moved on from their Euro 2022 triumph and are determined to refocus attention on their World Cup campaign.

Manchester City’s Hemp started every game for boss Sarina Wiegman during an historic run that ended, one year ago Monday, with England lifting their first major trophy at Wembley, igniting unprecedented interest in women’s football across the UK.

As a result of injuries and retirements, the England boss’s World Cup squad features seven players who were not part of that monumental match, while Rachel Daly, last summer’s left-back, is a forward for this competition.

Asked if it was fair to place sky-high expectations on her largely changed side, Hemp said: “I think, as a team, yes that happened last summer, what a fantastic summer it was, but obviously it’s a new summer now, new challenges. You’ve seen in games in this tournament that anything can happen, but we’re ready for each one.

“So yeah, it’s exciting to be a part of but obviously it’s a massive tournament where anything can happen, so as a team we’re just focusing on each game as it comes.”

Norfolk-born Hemp, 22, was speaking from the palm tree-lined Central Coast Stadium north of Sydney, home of the A-League’s Central Coast Mariners and the Lionesses’ training base for the remainder of the tournament.

After beating Haiti 1-0 in their opener, England will now play Denmark in the New South Wales capital on Friday before travelling to Adelaide to face China in their final group game on Tuesday.

There were 49 places separating world number four England from Haiti, but they are just nine clear of their more familiar European opponents Denmark, who Hemp said feature “a very big attacking threat” in ex-Chelsea forward Pernille Harder.

The Lionesses began their Australian adventure on the Sunshine Coast before travelling to Brisbane for the Haiti match, and have now settled into the beachside town of Terrigal, New South Wales. 

The full squad took part in Tuesday’s training session, which was attended by approximately 2500 locals, mostly school groups, with many sticking around for autographs and pictures with obliging players – though a strong contingent were also hollering for Wiegman herself to pay them a visit.

The England boss has demanded her side be more “ruthless” after Georgia Stanway’s retaken penalty was the only goal against Haiti.

Hemp said: “I think we are all working really hard in training to make sure we are being more clinical, creating more chances and obviously getting our goal percentage higher.

“But we know it is something we need to improve on and we are working really hard as a team to make sure we are ready for the next game. We will be raring and ready to score some goals.

“We have seen in games that we are capable of doing that, so it’s not like we have not scored before. We are all capable of scoring. It is just about making it click and getting those connections working.

“I think obviously being at a World Cup is new for a lot of us – a lot of us have never been to one before. It’s across the other side of the world and I’m not making excuses but it’s important that each game we build on and we’ve seen that last summer, so we’re more than capable of doing that.”

England forward Lauren Hemp believes fans are yet to see her best football ahead of the Lionesses' Euro 2022 quarter-final against Spain, as she warned facing La Roja represented a "massive challenge".

Hosts England breezed through the group stages at the Women's Euros, recording the biggest ever win at a European Championship when hammering eight goals past Norway before rounding off Group A with a 5-0 win over Northern Ireland. 

In doing so, Sarina Wiegman's team became the first side since Germany (in 2001, 2005 and 2009) to win all three of their group games at back-to-back European Championships, having done likewise in 2017.

The Lionesses have now scored an astonishing 98 goals in just 17 games under Wiegman, remaining unbeaten throughout and only conceding three times. 

Hemp started all three of England's group games, scoring in the resounding win over Norway, but is targeting improvements on an individual level as the knockout stages get underway.

"I think it takes time, it's my first major tournament with England, and in front of so many fans it is nerve-wrecking, I'm not going to lie," Hemp said in a news conference on Monday.

"I think being consistent is something I'm striving towards and personally I don't think you've seen the best yet, there's still time, and obviously it's going to take a while and I'm still so young.

"I'm still learning every day and taking it all in my stride really. I've got a great group of players around me who are supporting me and doing amazing. 

"It's important that we carry on this run and everyone's taking so much confidence from the recent games, it's important that we carry that on in the quarter-finals."

Wednesday's opponents Spain began the tournament as one of the favourites but finished second in Group B after losing Ballon d'Or-winning winger Alexia Putellas to injury before their opening game.

While Hemp is looking forward to facing Spain at Brighton and Hove Albion's AMEX Stadium, she admits La Roja, ranked seventh in the world by FIFA, will provide a stern test. 

"I think the overriding feeling is excitement, we've played them before in the Arnold Clark Cup [a 0-0 draw in February] and that was a massive learning curve for us," she added.

"We've done all the preparation needed and it's important that we stay on track, we've got a lot of confidence from the previous games obviously, [keeping] clean sheets, scoring lots of goals, and we're in a good place as a group, it's really exciting.

"We've got a lot of respect for the teams we have played and also the team we're going to come up against, but it's going to be a massive challenge, we know that.

"Coming into the quarter-finals is never going to be easy, it's two top sides coming up against each other so we're just looking forward to it."

Meanwhile, England's preparations for their last-eight clash have been disrupted by Wiegman testing positive for COVID-19, but Hemp played down the importance of her absence from training.  

"It's been different, obviously Covid is still around and it's a frustrating thing, it's unfortunate that she's got it," Hemp said.

"But we've trained for so long for these scenarios, she's still involved in the sessions remotely, but we've still got a fantastic technical staff and it doesn't feel that different, to be honest.

"She's still there and still supporting us, whether that's remotely or in person."

If some felt England had been underwhelming in their opening game win against Austria, it would be fair to say that in their second clash, the Lionesses roared.

Their 8-0 demolition of Norway at the Amex Stadium on Monday did more than just extend the longest unbeaten run in their history. It made a statement that England are ready to challenge for the Women's Euros on their own turf.

When they went seven ahead, England became the first team in European Championship history – women or men – to score so many in a single game.

Sarina Wiegman has made an immediate impact with the Lionesses since taking charge in September, with the Dutch coach having now won 14 and drawn two of her first 16 outings, scoring a remarkable 93 goals while conceding only three.

There had been some big wins already in the tournament that seemed ominous for the rest, with Spain and Germany hitting four in their opening matches while France became the first team to ever score five goals in the first half of a game at the Women's Euros when they trounced Italy 5-1 on Sunday.

England beat that record a day later, with a ruthless display seeing them lead 6-0 at the break.

An early penalty from Georgia Stanway after Ellen White had been felled got them going, and from there it seemed like every attack ended up in the Norway net.

Lauren Hemp made it two from close range despite being initially judged offside, before a brace each from Beth Mead and White gave the crowd in Brighton quite a first half to witness.

This was the first Women's Euros encounter between England and Norway, and it was one Gresshoppene boss Martin Sjogren will want to forget in a hurry.

The visitors stemmed the flow of goals in the second half, although their opponents seemed to use the opportunity to rest their legs.

Wiegman did just that as she took off White, Rachel Daly and the impressive Fran Kirby, who registered two assists, before the hour.

England had another on 65 minutes, though, as Alessia Russo, who replaced White, headed home a Lucy Bronze cross.

Mead completed her hat-trick with nine minutes remaining, tapping home after Guro Pettersen had spilled a Kiera Walsh strike from just outside the box.

Mead, who netted the only goal of the game against Austria, has now been directly involved in 29 goals for England under Wiegman (18 goals, 11 assists), with Hemp nine behind after her goal and assist took her to 20 involvements (eight goals, 12 assists).

The crowd of 28,847 were in their element, with no hostility, no jibes, just support for their team, and the familiar tune of 'Three Lions' having more than one vociferous airing.

It would be too simple to put this down to an energised showing because they were in front of their own fans, though. England played some outstanding football and earned their goal bonanza.

They look like a completely different side under Wiegman and dismantled a team only three places below them in the FIFA rankings, having 25 shots in all, hitting the target with an impressive 15.

Norway, ranked 11th in the world, looked like a deer caught in the headlights at times, but the pace and accuracy of the passing and movement was on point from their tormentors throughout.

The Lionesses are through to the quarter-finals already as group winners and can afford to rest plenty in their final Group A game against Northern Ireland before returning to Brighton on July 20 for the last-eight clash, likely to be against Germany or Spain.

England went into the tournament as one of the favourites, despite not having won it before. Their improvement under Wiegman coupled with home advantage means they are fancied by many.

Of course, we have been here before with England. Flattering to deceive, raising hopes only to have them extinguished. We all know that England expects, often in vain.

It is too early to say this feels different, but ripping apart a relatively strong opponent in such fashion has to impress even the most stubborn doubter.

Their fans certainly believe, anyway.

Five years after Sarina Wiegman's Netherlands team triumphed on home turf at the European Championship, Sarina Wiegman's England begin among the favourites to ... triumph on home turf.

Wiegman's switch to coach the Lionesses has served as a key sub-plot to the tournament, which will put women's football in the spotlight throughout July.

It gets under way when England play Austria at Old Trafford on Wednesday, women taking the spotlight in a year when the men's World Cup unusually takes place in November and December.

Almost 120,000 spectators attended games when England's north west staged Euro 2005; however, the overwhelming majority were either at games featuring England, or at the final between Germany and Norway at Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park.

That meant some games were sparsely attended, with just 957 spectators seeing France beat Italy in the group stages in Preston. This time, with the tournament boosted from eight to 16 teams since England were last hosts, over 500,000 tickets have been sold, meaning near-empty stadiums should be a thing of the past.

Here, Stats Perform looks at what to expect from the 26-day finals.

German dominance gives way as rest of Europe catches up

Germany used to be the queens of the Women's Euros, but their crown has slipped. After winning six consecutive titles, the Germans fell short at Euro 2017 when they lost to eventual runners-up Denmark in the quarter-finals.

It was all rather end-of-an-era stuff, with the rise of professionalism across Europe's most powerful and forward-thinking footballing nations only likely to be further in evidence this year. Germany, of course, are included among those powerhouses, but they have plenty of company now at the top table.

The Dutch hosts roared to glory at Euro 2017, with Vivianne Miedema scoring twice in a 4-2 victory over the Danes in the final, having demolished Mark Sampson's England 3-0 to reach that stage. Miedema joined Arsenal shortly before that tournament and has become the Women's Super League's record scorer while with the Gunners, the defining player of the blossoming WSL.

This is a tournament that was first officially staged in 1984, with Sweden beating England on penalties in Luton after the teams finished tied on aggregate after home and away ties.

From the second staging in 1987 through to 1997, the tournament was staged every two years, with Norway triumphing in 1987 and 1993. Germany – and West Germany in 1989 – otherwise swept the board and continued to do so when it became a quadrennial championship.

The mighty Germans dismissed England 6-2 in the 2009 final in Helsinki, with a Lionesses team that included Alex Scott, Kelly Smith, Karen Carney, Eni Aluko, Fara Williams and Casey Stoney overwhelmed. Another survivor from that match, veteran midfielder Jill Scott, features in Wiegman's squad this year.

Mighty Spain top list of trophy contenders

Spain are favourites with the bookmakers, and what a team they are, built on classic foundations of players from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Their sensational midfielder Alexia Putellas could own this tournament, but the Spanish rise was checked by Barcelona's stunning defeat to Lyon in the Champions League final.

French outfit Lyon have been established titans of the women's game for years, but Barcelona looked to have surpassed them, winning all 30 of their Primera Division games last season in a display of their might. Yet on the biggest club stage of all, Barcelona, with their many Spain stars, were caught cold and slumped to a 3-1 loss.

That should give Spain's Euros rivals some hope, as should the blow that Spain suffered when star forward Jennifer Hermoso was ruled out by a knee injury.

There are plenty of credible challengers, with hosts England among them. Since Wiegman replaced Phil Neville, England have won every match under their new coach, including a 5-1 victory over the Netherlands at Elland Road in June, and they should be able to handle group games against Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland.

Expect the familiar European giants to contend. Women's football is gradually becoming big business, and the richest countries are building the best facilities and funding the game on a professional level, which is a far cry from how the game was a decade ago.

England go Dutch, Dutch go English, Scandinavians on a mission

France have left national team greats Amandine Henry and Eugenie Le Sommer out of their squad, so how they cope without that illustrious duo remains to be seen, while England are without long-standing former captain and defensive mainstay Steph Houghton, who was judged not fit enough by Wiegman after an injury lay-off.

The hosts have Barcelona's new recruit Lucy Bronze, another rock of their team for many years, while the likes of winger Lauren Hemp and strikers Ella Toone and Alessia Russo should announce themselves on the big stage. Not for the first time, England look forward-heavy, with question marks over their midfield strength. New captain Leah Williamson attended the last Euros as a fan, so this is a significant step up.

While England are coached by a Dutchwoman, the Netherlands are bossed by Englishman Mark Parsons, who had a long spell with the Portland Thorns before replacing Wiegman. The reigning champions are contenders again, given the presence of Miedema and the mercurial Lieke Martens, who has traded Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in the off-season. The thumping by England was a jolt, but don't read too much into that result.

Denmark's Pernille Harder and Norway's Ada Hegerberg are superstar strikers in teams that might cause a surprise, Sweden sit second in the FIFA rankings so rightly fancy their chances, and then you have Germany. The eight-time winners lack the star power of their rivals and must play Denmark and Spain in the group stage, but their squad is packed with experience, so count them out at your peril.