When Freeman won gold in the 400m at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, it was the most-watched event in Australian television history with 8.8 million tuning in.

Can the Matildas do the unthinkable and break that all-time mark in Wednesday night’s semi-final against England in what would be yet another watershed moment for women’s sport?

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TAB is running a market with the Matildas at $4.50 to create history and break the ozTAM record and shatter Freeman’s 23-year reign at the top.

“It is difficult to remember the last time Australians were this excited for a sporting event, it has been truly mind-blowing,” TAB spokesperson Nick Smart said.

“There were 4.17 million people watching Australia’s dramatic quarter-final win over France, and that didn’t include all the people watching at pubs, bars and public spaces on a Saturday night.

“The interest has spiked even further off the back of it, and the big question is whether they can break the all-time record that has stood for 23 years.”

TAB is also offering a novelty market for the overall TV rating, with $1.60 on offer for over 5.5 million viewers and $2.20 to be under that.

Ash Barty’s epic Australian Open win in 2022 attracted 4.2 million eyeballs.

5.40PM: ‘Going to be special’: Matilda Mum’s pledge to b’day girl

As if they needed any extra motivation, the Matildas will find it in the form of the team’s unofficial mascot: Harper Gorry.

The young daughter of mid-field powerhouse Katrina Gorry, today is Harper’s 2nd birthday. And mum has promised ‘something special’ to celebrate.

Could it be another dominant lockdown of the middle of the field, as Gorry has produced throughout the tournament?

5PM: GAME RESPECTS GAME: BOOMERS CLASSY ACT

Everybody knows the Matildas are the biggest ticket in town tonight – even one of Australia’s other favourite sporting outfits.

The Boomers are in their final preparations for the men’s basketball World Cup, playing a warm-up game against Brazil in Melbourne, but they gave a solid hat tip to Tony Gustavsson’s team as they arrived for their clash.

Having already moved the Brazil game forward to 5.30pm, from its original 7.30pm tip-off, to avoid a clash with the Matildas’ showdown with England, Patty Mills and teammates rocked up for their game in replica kits to show respect to the Aussie women.

Mills sported a Cortnee Vine jersey, in honour of the Sydney FC striker who buried the match-winning penalty last Saturday, while teammates had a healthy spread of support for the rest of the team.

4.30PM: ‘I QUIT’: MATILDA’S HEROICS FORCES MINISTER OUT

Australia’s Minister of Defence Richard Marles has resigned from his post and named Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold has his replacement.

In a video posted to social media ahead of Australia’s World Cup semi-final against England at Stadium Australia tonight, Marles explains that the keeper is the only person fit for the role.

On Saturday night, Arnold stopped three penalties in a shootout against France to secure the Matilda’s a semi-final berth. She was immediately hailed as the nation’s hero and renamed our new minister of defence.

Yielding to public opinion, Marles was all for the role switch – albeit as a tongue in cheek and short-term decision.

“Since Saturday night I have been inundated with texts and emails there have been calls from the media,” he said.

“I wanted the nation to know I have heard Australia’s message. Tonight our country faces a grave threat and it comes from the old enemy.

“I know I am unable to meet the moment so this afternoon it is my solemn duty to resign as Australia’s Minister of Defence. I’ve handed my commission to Mackenzie Arnold.

“As Australia expects, I know that in this hour, she will do me proud. But tomorrow morning please give me back the keys.

“Go Matildas.”

3:30PM MATILDAS STAR FINALLY REVEALS WHY SHE WEARS GLOVES

A Matildas mystery has finally been solved.

For weeks now, curiosity over Mary Fowler’s gloves has been on the up.

Google searches came to nothing, there is nothing in her Manchester City bio about it and

Fowler only added to the intrigue when she refused to reveal the reasoning when asked early on in the tournament.

Why is one of Australia’s best football talents wearing gloves every time she takes to the field – even in hotter climates?

Many just assumed it was a habit because of the cold English weather she plays her club football in.

But no and she’s finally cracked and admitted “it just a bit silly really”.

“The gloves….I honestly just wear gloves because I get fidgety,” she told Mark Schwarzer, who suggested perhaps the gloves were a sign that she really wanted to be a goalkeeper.

“I haven’t told anyone yet.

“Usually I train with a ring on but if its cold I wear gloves and you can’t wear a ring in a match so I wear gloves, it stop me moving around so much.”

1:45PM COACH RAID: MATILDAS MAY LOSE BOSS AFTER WORLD CUP

The Matildas may struggle to retain head coach Tony Gustavsson with one of the most successful coaches in women’s football urging the US Women’s National Team to consider poaching the Swede after Australia’s stunning run at the World Cup.

Jill Ellis, who led the USWNT to back-to-back World Cup triumphs in 2015 and 2019, says Gustavsson has not been given enough credit for what he has achieved with Australia this tournament and must be in the conversation for the US if they look to make a managerial change after their shock round of 16 exit – the worst result in US history.

Gustavsson worked under Ellis during her two successful World Cup campaigns and said she can see remarkable similarities between those US journeys and the path the Matildas have chartered under the Swedish coach’s tenure.

He was never considered to succeed Ellis for the US job in 2019 as the focus quickly turned to popular club coach Vlatko Andonoski, but Ellis says Gustavsson must be on the radar for the US after his performance with Australia.

Gustavsson is contracted with Football Australia until September 2024, locking him in for this World Cup and next year’s Paris Olympic Games.

By becoming the first manager in football history to take Australia to the semi-finals of a World Cup, Gustavsson has earned the right to write his own cheque with Football Australia but even that may not be enough if the world’s biggest superpower comes knocking.

“He should definitely be a strong candidate for the job,” Ellis told ESPN.

“I don’t think people are giving him and his staff enough credit for having navigated most of this tournament without arguably one of the best players in the world (Sam Kerr).

“Most of us as coaches would not have said Australia was even close to being a contender without Kerr, so that’s pretty remarkable what they’ve been able to navigate as a staff.”

Ellis said she could tell from Australia’s warm-up win over France in Melbourne last month that the Matildas were going to be a serious contender in the World Cup.

Gustavsson endured a rocky build up to the tournament as he built depth with a young roster and even adapted the Matildas game style throughout the tournament by finding a way to goal without super striker Kerr.

“I watched them play against France in the warm-up game, and I remember going, ‘This is a well-oiled machine. They’re going to make a deep run in this tournament,’” Ellis said.

“You could just see it — the way they stepped together and moved together. It just reminded me a lot of our team in 2019. We were a very well-oiled machine, prepared for any situation.”

1:20PM MESSAGES OF SUPPORT FROM AUSSIE HEROES

IAN THORPE – OLYMPIAN AND OPTUS AMBASSADOR

“To our Australian Golden Girls, wishing you the greatest of hope and power for the semi-finals. Above everything you have already won the hearts of the nation, inspired the next generation, and are leaving a lasting legacy for decades to come. I can already see Aussie kids kick-starting their aspirations for Brisbane 2032 after witnessing the greatest sportsmanship this country has seen in a long time. I have not experienced an atmosphere of support, affection and joy like this in a long time. It reminds me of the Sydney Olympics.”

PAT CUMMINS – AUSTRALIAN MEN’S TEST CRICKET CAPTAIN

“It’s really special. Just go out there and enjoy it. It’s going to be a packed house. Millions of people watching. That’s why you start playing any sport as a kid, you want those big moments and I’m sure the Matildas will go out there and kill it.”

ALYSSA HEALY – AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S CRICKET CAPTAIN

“Embrace it. Embrace every moment of it and enjoy it. I think just watching on from a far it seems like the Matildas have done just that. You look at the moment the other night where Sam Kerr rips off her shirt and gives it to a young girl. I think sometimes you get caught up in winning a trophy and what it all means but it seems like the Matildas have stayed at a point where they understand what this is doing for the game as a whole and I think if you understand that and enjoy every moment it brings some good performances on the park. They can just go out there and play with smiles on their faces and enjoy what they’ve created. Hopefully it will be a good result for them. But what they’ve done for the country as a whole they should be really proud of.”

12:20PM MATILDAS STAR’S BRUTAL SHUT DOWN OF POMMY REPORTER

Mackenzie Arnold was the hero for Australia at the weekend and the keeper was at it again in her pre-semi-final press conference shutting down an English journalist’s questioning.

Arnold stopped three penalties after missing her own in the quarter-final against France on Saturday night with fans renaming her Australia’s new “minister of defence.”

Talking to the world’s media ahead of tonight’s semi-final clash with old foes England Arnold was, once again, a wall.

Vision from the media gathering went viral for tall the right reasons as Arnold shut down an English reporter’s attempt to stir up the rivalry between the two nations.

“Mackenzie these two countries have a traditional and long rivalry,” he said. “I’m sure there are a lot of England fans back home that would l’ve to see them knock you out of your home tournament. Is the idea of being knocked out by England almost unthinkable to you?”

Stone faced, Arnold replied: “Being knocked out by anyone is unthinkable, I think there’s a lot of English people that would like to see them knock us out but I think there’s more Australians that would love to see England knocked out by us.

“We have so many rivalries with so many different countries, this is just another game for us.”

The rest of the room couldn’t help but chuckle.

11:45AM EQUAL PAY? DEBATE RAGES ON

An all-female Sydney sports management agency has demanded Matildas and Socceroos players be paid equally while urging national and global brands to show more respect to Australia’s female players.

Moore Park-based ESE The Agency manages six Matildas, including Cortnee Vine, Hayley Raso and Katrina Gorry, and wants both sporting genders to be treated with equality following the Matilda’s extraordinary World Cup success.

Vine, Raso and Gorry will play the World Cup semi-final against England at a sold-out Stadium Australia on Wednesday night.

ESE’s two managing directors – Leon Spellson and Alexandra Williamson – are becoming increasingly fed-up with international and Australian companies who fail to show female athletes the same respect as male counterparts.

The pay disparity is glaringly obvious for this women’s World Cup when you consider that if the Matildas win the entire tournament, they will share in $6.59m in prize money and receive about $286,500 each.

But the Socceroos, who only reached the round of 16 where Australia won $19.9m last year in Qatar, each took home about $316,000 each under the Football Australia pay deal.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

STOP IT

11:15AM MASSIVE BLOW TO SEVEN

We all know the Matildas have re-written the history books when it comes to TV ratings this World Cup but at what cost?

Seven West Media managing director and chief executive officer, James Warburton says that while the company has been utterly blown away by the audience scale for the Matildas, they have missed out on millions in revenue owing to advertising limitations.

“The thing with the Women’s World Cup, is that you got to remember, the audience has been absolutely unbelievable and we’ve loved telling the narrative of this wonderful team – and go Matildas tonight and hopefully all the way on Sunday – but there’s no ads during … play, during extra time, during penalty shootout, so it’s quite limited in terms of its commerciality,” he said.

Seven spent half a billion dollars on the World Cup rights

“It’s exceeded all of our wildest dreams, but it drives our schedule and drives our dominance moving forward because our entire schedule is built around it.”

10:15AM WHO WINS?

All bar one of our experts are backing the Matildas to get the job done tonight. So can England win it?

Here’s what Marco Monteverde reckons.

Prediction: England 2-1. The Lionesses’ are set to spoil Australia’s party by beating the Matildas, who face the tough task of backing up from an exhausting and tension-filled Saturday night in Brisbane. The champions of Europe will also have learnt from their loss to the Aussies in April.

Australia’s key player: The tenacious Katrina Gorry needs to dominate the midfield and be first-class with her distribution if the Matildas are to win.

England’s Key threat: If Gorry is vital to Australia’s hopes, then Barcelona’s Keira Walsh is the key for the Lionesses in an overall midfield battle that could decide the game.

9:45AM IMAGE MATILDAS FANS DONT WANT TO SEE

It’s the image Australia fans won’t want to see on the morning of the Matildas do-or-die semi-final clash with England.

Sam Kerr with an ice pack on the calf that has cruelled the majority of her World Cup campaign.

The forward sustained the injury on the eve of Australia’s first group game against the Republic of Ireland and has only played a sub role in the last two matches.

Kerr’s calf issue forced her to miss the entire group stage before she featured for the final ten minutes of her side’s 2-0 win over Denmark in the round of 16.

She then came on in the 55th minute of Australia’s quarter-final penalties triumph over France, scoring in the dramatic shoot-out.

After training on Tuesday, Kerr was spotted walking to the team hotel with an ice pack wrapped around her calf.

Coach Tony Gustavsson was optimistic when asked if Kerr would start against the reigning European champions.

“She [Kerr] pushed through more minutes than we hoped for to be honest,” he said.

“One of the reasons why we kept her on the bench was that we were uncertain how many minutes she had coming back from that calf injury but also the limited training minutes she had.

“The way she pushed through was fantastic and impressive both from a mental and physical aspect.

“She recovered well, she trained today so she’s available.”

After victory over France Kerr said she would have been comfortable starting the match.

She said: “When I hurt my calf, the plan was to always to [try to] be ready for a semi-final, the final.

“So I could have [started vs France], but who knows what could have happened?

“The girls have been smashing it and absolutely dominating.

“I was ready to go, but we’ve had a plan this whole tournament and we just had to stick to it.

“That was part of the plan, to get 20 minutes against Denmark to make me feel better for this game and now with another, what, 65 minutes, I feel better for it and I’ll have more training under my belt.

“So I feel ready to go. I think with everything that’s been going on, the best thing for [the France game] was the plan we did and the plan we followed.”

A NEWSPAPER TAKEOVER

9AM MATILDAS EBAY TAKEOVER

The Matildas have essentially broken any record put in front of them this World Cup.

A TV smash, merch has basically run out and the stadium attendance numbers speak for themselves.

Now they’re taking on e-commerce and after defeating France on penalties last weekend, sales of Matildas scarves skyrocketed 2,650% on eBay, versus the two-days prior, with fans across the nation celebrating the historic quarter-final clash.

As Aussies continue to don the green and gold in support of their home team, data from eBay Australia also reveals that in the last two weeks alone:

The number of sales of Matildas jerseys have increased +450%

The number of sales of Matildas beanies have increased 225%

The number of sales of Matildas soccer balls have increased +50%

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