Australia star Sam Kerr makes strong demand after England Women's World Cup loss
Australia star Sam Kerr was left gutted after England Women's World Cup defeat
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Sam Kerr has demanded more funding in Australia's Women's football team following their defeat to England on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old scored one of the goals of the tournament during the match in Sydney.
Yet goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo sent England through to the final at their expense.
Now, speaking after the showdown, Kerr has demanded more funding for the Australia team after their hopes of securing glory on home soil were ruthlessly ended.
Sam Kerr netted a stunner as England beat Australia at the Women's World Cup
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“I can only speak for the Matildas [but], you know, we need funding in our development, we need funding in our grassroots," said the Chelsea striker.
"We need funding, you know, we need funding everywhere.
“You know, comparison to other sports isn’t really good enough and hopefully this tournament kind of changes that because that’s the legacy you leave, not what you do on the pitch.
“The legacy is what you do off the pitch.
"Hopefully. I mean, it’s hard to talk about now, but hopefully that this is the start of something new.”
She continued: “That’s kind of the only thing that’s keeping me smiling right now is the way that we’ve kind of inspired the nation.
“Everyone’s got behind us. The tournament’s been amazing. Every single team and player and person that’s visited has said how beautiful our country is.
“So, I think for us, it’s been hopefully life-changing for women’s football in Australia.”
Kerr received support from Australia coach Tony Gustavsson, who is hoping his side's run at the tournament can be a catalyst for change.
“I hate to lose," said the Matildas boss.
"But I said it before, it’s bigger than 90 minutes of football.
"We’re very disappointed that we lost, but, hopefully, we won something else. We won the heart and the passion for this team in this country.
“But I agree with the players, this is not the end of something, this needs to be the start of something. And with that comes money as well.”
While it was agony for Australia, it was joy for England.
They're now through to the final of a major tournament for the second year in a row, having won the European Championships last summer.
And Sarina Wiegman reacted to her side's win by admitting they'd overcome their toughest test yet.
“We achieved the final! Unbelievable, it feels like we won the whole thing but we didn’t," stated the 53-year-old.
“An away game at this incredible stadium, it was a hard game but again, we found a way to win.
“We scored three goals, in this team there is ruthlessness, up front and defence.
"We really want to win. We stick together and we stick to the plan and it worked again.”
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Australia boss Tony Gustavsson agreed with Sam Kerr after losing to England
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And Sarina Wiegman reacted to her side's win by admitting they'd overcome their toughest test yet.
“We achieved the final! Unbelievable, it feels like we won the whole thing but we didn’t," stated the 53-year-old.
“An away game at this incredible stadium, it was a hard game but again, we found a way to win.
“We scored three goals, in this team there is ruthlessness, up front and defence.
"We really want to win. We stick together and we stick to the plan and it worked again.”