A Lioness, who was trained at Blackburn Rovers, has helped England secure their spot in the World Cup final by scoring a goal in today’s (August 16) semi-final.
The England team is celebrating a 3-1 victory over co-hosts Australia in front of a sold-out crowd in Sydney.
Former Rovers player Ella Toone scored England’s first goal of the game.
The 23-year-old, who replaced the suspended Lauren James for England’s quarter-final win over Colombia, netted the goal 36 minutes into the game.
The England park erupted in celebration after the goal with beers seen flying in the air. One fan at BoxPark Croydon was seen throwing his child in the air in delight.
Australia captain Sam Kerr, making her first start of competition, equalised for the first-time semi-finalists with a stunning individual goal after the break before Hemp put England back out in front.
Alessia Russo added another late in the second half to cap off the historic encounter and set up an all-European final showdown against Spain on Sunday night in Sydney.
England are now one win away from lifting two major trophies in just under 13 months after their triumph at last summer’s European Championships, while Australia will play Sweden for third place in Brisbane on Saturday.
Ella played at both junior and senior level for Blackburn Rovers between 2013 and 2017, making 20 appearances and scoring 13 goals while still a teenager.
She briefly joined Manchester City before moving to Manchester United’s senior team in 2018, and had been a regular in England women's age-group squads before breaking into the senior side.
Toone was part of an all Blackburn Rovers-made midfield for the big game, featuring alongside Georgia Stanway, now of Bayern Munich, and former Haslingden High and Bacup & Rawtenstall Grammar student Keira Walsh, who now plays for Barcelona.
Stanway put in a typically physical performance, playing aggressive front-foot football to win a number of key tackles and keep the ball moving in the heart of midfield.
As she so often does, Walsh went largely unnoticed to the casual viewer, but for purists she was key in disrupting Aussie attacks and recycling the ball, putting England on the front foot.
England face Spain in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday, August 20, with kick off at 11am GMT from Stadium Australia in Sydney.
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