Tyldesley‘s Ella Toone was on target as the Lionesses beat co-hosts Australia 3-1 to reach the World Cup final.

Toone opened the scoring with a ruthless strike 36 minutes into her second start of the tournament in front of a crowd of 75,784.

Australia got back on level terms after the break through Sam Kerr but Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo both struck to secure the victory.

Sarina Weigman’s side will now face Spain on Sunday for a chance to lift the trophy. They are aiming to make it back-to-back successes after winning the European Championship last summer.

“We achieved the final and it’s unbelievable. It feels like we’ve won it, but we won this game,” said the head coach.

“It’s an incredible stadium, an away game. Of course, it was a hard game but again we found a way to win.

“We scored three goals, in this team that ruthlessness, whether it’s up front or in defence we really want to keep the ball out of the net, we really want to win and we stick together. We stick to the plan and it worked again.”

She added: “The chance as a coach you make it to two finals is really special. I never take anything for granted but am I in a fairytale or something?”

Lucy Bronze was overwhelmed after finally reaching the World Cup final at the third time of asking, having featured in England’s previous semi-final defeats.

“This is the one thing I’ve always wanted, to be in the final of a World Cup and after two times of getting such disappointment, I honestly can’t believe it,” said the defender.

“We all dreamed of being in the final and all our family and friends booked here to stay until the final because they believed in us. To have everybody here and all that support is unbelievable.

“It’s been amazing to play against Australia, what a fantastic tournament they had, but I’m so happy to get to the final.”