Australia advanced to the Women’s World Cup semifinals for the first time after defeating France on penalties on Saturday.
Cortnee Vine took Australia’s 10th penalty from the spot and calmly converted to give the Matildas a 7-6 shootout victory after regular and extra time ended 0-0.
The Australians had two early opportunities to win a tense shootout, but it didn’t matter because they broke a long curse for tournament hosts. As the host nation, Australia became the only team other than the United States to go through the quarterfinals of a Women’s World Cup.
Australia will face either England or Colombia in the final next Wednesday in Sydney.