Making her first start of the tournament,Kerr did conjure the ‘Cathy Freeman moment’ she so desperately wanted,in a sense – there was just no gold medal at the end of it. Her goal was one of the very best she’s scored in an Aussie jersey,coming in the 63rd minute after Clare Hunt won a turnover in defence,then passed to Gorry,who played her into space.

Few other players could do what she did from there.

So it’s a play-off for third place against Sweden on Saturday in Brisbane. England are into their first Women’s World Cup final against Spain on Sunday in Sydney.

This will hurt,but when the pain and sadness subsides,these players will be able to hold their heads up high. There is no shame in this for the Matildas. If someone had said – before all this madness began – that they’d make it all the way to the semi-finals with only minor involvement from Kerr,nobody would have believed them.

These players have overcome what feels like a lifetime’s worth of trials and tribulations in the space of a few short weeks. In so doing,the country fell hopelessly in love with them. They have not won a trophy,but they have won what feels like a permanent place in everyone’s heart,and an unimpeachable new status within broader Australian culture – and as far as consolations go,that’s pretty damn good.

By starting Kerr,Gustavsson decided to play his best card from the beginning. His only other change from Saturday’s quarter-final was the inclusion of Clare Polkinghorne for Alanna Kennedy (illness). But his team never really got going.

England played as expected – they had more than twice as many passes as Australia did in the first half,and were particularly slick in the final third as their combination play around the box opened Australia up on several occasions.

An unexpected feature of the English approach was uncompromising physicality. Most of it was reserved for Kerr,who was the target of three strong challenges inside the first 25 minutes,including a particularly cynical scythe by Alex Greenwood to chop her down just as she threatened to set up a counter-attack. It rightly earned her a yellow card.

But England’s patient,probing style eventually paid off. Russo rescued a throw-in from trickling out for a goal kick,dished off to Lauren Hemp,who in turn passed inboard and found Ella Toone,who launched an absolute rocket into the top corner of the net. It set the tone for the rest of the night.

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