BRISBANE, Australia — Mackenzie Arnold’s impact on Australia’s biggest Women’s World Cup moment was so immense that it’s hardly surprising it took vanquished France Coach Herve Renard to describe it best.

“We came up against a Goliath of a goalie. What a game,” Renard said.

Australia won a penalty shootout 7-6 against Renard’s team after their quarterfinal ended 0-0 in regulation and extra time on Saturday.

Arnold was “the winning factor,” the French coach acknowledged, “both in normal time but also in extra time and then during the shootout.”

Indeed. Arnold was instrumental in Australia advancing to the semifinals for the first time and ending the so-called curse of the host nation.

Cortnee Vine, playing in her first World Cup and going on late as a substitute, was the 10th in a line of 11 penalty takers picked for Australia. She strode to the spot, aiming to finish off where two of her teammates couldn’t, and calmly converted to give the Matildas a momentous victory.

The Australians became the only hosts other than the United States to win a quarterfinal in nine Women’s World Cups.

The Matildas will play England next Wednesday for a spot in the final after the European champions beat Colombia, 2-1.

Arnold kept the Matildas in the game in extra time and made three clutch saves in the shootout – before and after missing with her own attempt that could have sealed the win.

“I will remember this night for the rest of my life,” she said. “That is the craziest game I’ve ever played, considering what was on the line.

“It’s going to take a long time to really realize what has happened and what I’ve done and what the team has done. I’m just super proud to be Australian right now.”

The quarterfinal transfixed Australia. Fans at other stadiums, in other sports, watched live broadcasts on giant screens. The evening news was delayed by the host broadcaster so everyone Down Under had a chance to watch the game on free-to-air TV. The Australians had another capacity crowd of almost 50,000 in Brisbane, after crowds exceeding 75,000 for two wins in Sydney.

Renard said his lineup did well considering it was a squad of 23 against 26 million rivals: “I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate them, congratulate them for the performance that they pulled off today against an entire nation. There were a couple of things that could have gone the other way.

“From the day we got to Australia and right until the very bitter end … we have no regrets,” he said.

Australia had lost all three of its previous quarterfinals at Women’s World Cups and went into the knockout game under intense pressure knowing that six of the previous hosts were eliminated at the quarterfinal stage, including France in 2019. Australia is co-hosting the tournament with New Zealand.

The French were playing in the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive time, but their only win was their first quarterfinal, beating England on penalties in 2011.

ENGLAND 2, COLOMBIA 1: The tests keep coming for England and the Lionesses keep roaring.

Alessia Russo fired England into the semifinals with a second-half goal in Sydney to beat Colombia in a game that showcased the resolve of Sarina Wiegman’s team and set up a clash with co-host Australia.

“We always find a way through,” said Russo, whose goal completed a come-from-behind win after Leicy Santos had given Colombia a first-half lead. “One of the strongest things about this team is we never give up.”

England advanced to the last four for the third consecutive Women’s World Cup, despite going into the tournament with a host of key players out injured.

Kiera Walsh was then sidelined after hurting her knee in the second game of the group stage and Lauren James is serving a two-game suspension for stepping on Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie in the round of 16.

Yet England keeps coming up with answers.

“We’ve had lots of challenges, and we’ve got through these challenges,” Wiegman said. “It showed the resilience of the team.”

Without star player James, England’s route to the semifinals was made all the more complicated by Santos’ strike in the 44th.

England also had to contend with a partisan crowd of 75,784 at Stadium Australia that was hugely in favor of Colombia, and then there was the physical approach of its opponent, as the Lionesses were left bruised by a number heavy challenges.

Yet the composure of England’s players under intense pressure was never more evident than when going a goal down.

The Lionesses produced arguably their most composed play as they controlled possession and probed Colombia’s half before Lauren Hemp seized on a mistake by goalkeeper Catalina Perez to poke the ball over the line in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time.

“Everyone knows their task and you try to stick to the task and keep your emotions in control. It’s easy to say, but that’s what you practice every day,” Wiegman said. “That’s one of the strengths of this team that we do stay calm. So we conceded a goal and you don’t see any panic. We just try to speed up the game even more and create chances and score goals. So far, I think we have done that really well.”

Wiegman is a step closer to her second consecutive Women’s World Cup final after her Netherlands team was runner-up to the United States in 2019.

England lost in the semifinals in 2015 and 2019, going out to Japan and the United States, respectively.

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