While New Zealand continued a winless streak overnight, their fellow hosts of this year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup ended England’s remarkable undefeated run. With three months left until the tournament begins, the Football Ferns and Australia are on vastly different paths.
As teams go through their final preparations during the last official international window, the Football Ferns again looked well behind co-hosts Australia.
England, who are among the tournament favourites, were upset by the Matildas in a result that gives fans a taste of the type of matches and surprising scorelines they might see in July.
The Lionesses, ranked fourth in the world, won the European Championship in 2022, but lost 2-0 to the 10th-ranked Matildas in Brentford, west London, this morning. The result ended England’s 30-game unbeaten streak.
Australia’s win contrasts with 25th-ranked New Zealand, who fell 3-0 to 42nd-ranked Nigeria.