Matildas smash the useless Poms

Australia are heading into the FIFA Women’s World Cup high on confidence after a stylish 2-0 victory over world No.10 England.

Two first-half goals from vice-captain Collette McCallum secured the victory as the No.11 ranked Matildas dominated for large portions of the match in their final hit out before starting the World Cup against Brazil next week.

Fresh from their win over Mexico four days earlier, Australia showed plenty of promise in attack early – Heather Garriock, Lisa De Vanna, Kyah Simon and McCallum all linking well to put pressure on the England defence.

A typically powerful De Vanna run in the 15th minute into the penalty area ended with the striker taken out and the referee awarding a penalty, which McCallum slotted home.

Another incisive run from De Vanna in the 27th minute led to the second goal.

Tameka Butt played in a corner, which England partially cleared, and the ball fell to McCallum who connected with a left-foot volley which rocketed into the top corner.

“Winning against a team like England, who by the way are highly fancied for this World Cup, is a boost,” Matildas coach Tom Sermanni said.

“I think the way we played in this match was just as critical as the result.

“Not only did we play some very attractive and fluid football but we also got a very positive result which is extremely important when heading into a big tournament.

“There’s a real sense of confidence around the team at the moment – a real self belief and buzz in the playing group.”

The Matildas begin their World Cup campaign against world No.3 Brazil before playing Equatorial Guinea on July 3 and Norway on July 6 in their other pool matches.

Buford Balony says: The POMS are meant to be good at football, yeah right, we flog them everytime we play em. Whether men or women they suck.

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