Australia 1-3 England: Player ratings as Lionesses reach Women's World Cup final

England are through to their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup final after beating Australia 3-1 in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

The high quality of goalkeeping has been a large talking point during this tournament, and early on in this match, it was no different. In the sixth minute, Mary Earps blocked a shot by Sam Kerr, who was offside anyway, and three minutes later Mackenzie Arnold made a save with her knee on Georgia Stanway's effort.

Throughout the first half, England looked in control, and they were rewarded for their efforts in the 36th minute when Ella Toone scored her first goal of the tournament. The Manchester United midfielder broke through the Australian defence before slicing the ball into the top corner to give the Lionesses the lead.

Australia came out in the second-half much more proactive after their mid-block was getting overrun by the Lionesses midfield, and in the 63rd minute, they found a breakthrough with an incredible goal from Sam Kerr, who picked up the ball during an Australia counter-attack and fired from distance.

But England quickly restored their lead after player-of-the-match Lauren Hemp capitalised on timid defending from Ellie Carpenter to fire a low, powerful shot home.

Alessia Russo sealed England's place in the final with a late goal, with Hemp's fantastic pass being instrumental in the build-up to put the Lionesses two goals ahead and silence the home crowd once and for all.

Australia will face against Sweden for bronze on Saturday while England will play Spain in the final on Sunday, with both teams contesting in their first-ever World Cup final.

England player ratings (3-4-1-2)

GK: Mary Earps - 7/10 - Saved an early Kerr effort, and although it was offside, she didn't know that. Couldn't do much for Kerr's sublime goal.

CB: Jess Carter - 7/10 - Another solid defensive display. Always covering for her teammates and made a crucial interception with Australia pushing late on.

CB: Millie Bright (c) - 7/10 - May be blamed for the Kerr goal, but knows that her club teammate would likely have beaten her in a 1v1 if she engaged anyway.

CB: Alex Greenwood - 8/10 - Picked up an early yellow, but was, once again, instrumental without the ball, and able to pick out some great passes too.

RM: Lucy Bronze - 7/10 - A better performance after a string of poor ones during this tournament.

CM: Georgia Stanway - 6/10 - A quiet game. Attempted one from distance in the second-half that was well high and wide.

CM: Keira Walsh - 7/10 - Everything goes through her, and so instrumental to build-up play.

LM: Rachel Daly - 6/10 - Didn't have much to do defensively. Still worked hard on the flanks.

AM: Ella Toone - 8/10 - Has struggled with England recently, but has finally shown her form of old. Took her goal fantastically well, adding to her resume of big-game strikes.

CF: Lauren Hemp - 9/10 - Once again the quickest during chaotic moments and poked the ball to restore the lead for England. Got the better of Carpenter, and her trickery was on full display. A fantastic pass for the third goal too.

CF: Alessia Russo - 7/10 - Managed an assist for Toone's banger after spotting her free in the box and got her goal late on.

Substitutes

SUB: Chloe Kelly (87' for Russo) - 7/10

SUB: Niamh Charles (90' for Toone) - N/A

Manager

Sarina Wiegman - 9/10 - Got her starting XI perfectly, and the plan to get at Australia could not have worked better.

Australia player ratings (4-4-2)

GK: Mackenzie Arnold - 6/10 - Made a good save early on against Stanway. Not much she could do about Toone's goal.

RB: Ellie Carpenter - 5/10 - At fault for England's second goal, as she easily could have cleared. Covered so much ground, as usual. Crosses in the box were hit and miss.

CB: Clare Hunt - 5/10 - Very timid and not commanding in the box.

CB: Clare Polkinghorne - 5/10 - Too slow, and was often caught out of position.

LB: Stephanie Catley - 6/10 - The best out of Australia's backline - but that's not saying much. Tried to get forward when she could.

RM: Hayley Raso - 5/10 - Heavily marked out of the game.

CM: Katrina Gorry - 6/10 - Had a decent effort on target, but was largely overrun by England's midfield.

CM: Kyra Cooney-Cross - 6/10 - Had two key passes, and was the better of Australia's two central midfielders, but still not her best match.

LM: Caitlin Foord - 5/10 - Kept at bay by Carter and Bronze. Offered no threat going forwards.

CF: Mary Fowler - 5/10 - Unusually quiet game.

CF: Sam Kerr (c) - 7/10 - Made little impact in the first half before grabbing an audacious equaliser. Had other chances that she should have buried late on when Australia needed rescuing again.

Substitutes

SUB: Cortnee Vine (72' for Raso) - 6/10

SUB: Emily Van Egmond (81' for Polkinghome) - 6/10

SUB: Alexandra Chidiac (88' for Gorry) - 6/10

Manager

Tony Gustafsson - 6/10 - Mid-block wasn't really working in the first-half as they were being blitzed by England's attacking midfielders. More proactive in the second-half, but his back-line let the team down.

Player of the match - Lauren Hemp (England)