Australia edge France to reach the Women’s World Cup semifinals, will face England

(AP) — 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 football match 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 famous 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'm just speechless right now to be honest,” Arnold said, adding that her missed shot was “incredibly disappointing” but the eventual triumph was “unreal.”

“I could have won the game for the girls and I missed it, but the way they rallied around me and just kept me in it,” she said. “At the end of the day it's my job to keep the ball out of the net and thankfully I could do that for them.”

The quarterfinal match transfixed Australia. Fans at other stadiums, in other sports, watched live broadcasts. 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.

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