Local pubs get behind Matildas ahead of Wednesday’s clash with England

Bunbury hotels are bracing for a wave of green and gold on Wednesday when the Matildas take on England in Australia’s historic World Cup semifinal. Crowds headed to local watering holes across the city to watch the Matildas defeat France in a penalty shootout on Saturday, and more of the same is expected for the semifinal. Wellington Hotel on-floor manager Annabelle Miragliotta said they had not planned for the overwhelming interest in the game on Saturday, but that would not be the case on Wednesday. Bartender Ashton Leahy believed the Wellington would attract a mix of supporters for both semifinal teams. “Will be definitely bigger for us,” he said. Ms Miragliotta said they would be using “whatever I can find” to get the hotel ready for the game. “It’s one of those things like even though not everyone’s into the whole sports thing, it’s actually uniting a lot of people,” she said. However both were convinced of how the game would play out. “Matildas are going to win,” Ms Miragliotta said. “They’re actually doing pretty amazing, they scare me a lot more than the guys do.” Mr Leahy agreed but added that “they (Matildas) are going to get at least four or five goals, England don’t stand a chance.” The Matildas won their way into Wednesday night’s semifinal after defeating France on penalties after both teams were scoreless after full-time and then extra time. The penalty shootout was the longest in world cup history with the game only decided when Australia’s Cortnee Vine made the 20th penalty shot. England won through to the semifinal with a 2-1 win over Colombia after the South Americans scored first just before half-time. England equalised soon after with Alessia Russo scoring the winner in the 63rd minute. But it was the Matildas’ game against France, despite no goals in regular time, that was the most watched television program so far this year. Broadcast on the Seven Network, across Australia more than 7.2 million people watched the game with 472,000 viewers on 7plus making the game also the biggest streaming event ever seen. Of the 356,000 people who watched the game in Perth, only about half then stayed on to watch the AFL and see West Coast Eagles humiliated by the Fremantle Dockers. The semifinal between Australia and England will be shown on 7mate at 6pm on Wednesday, with the pre-game broadcast starting at 5.30pm.