Australia keep World Cup dream alive with epic penalty shootout win over France

Even when the sun went down over balmy Brisbane the heat did not dissipate for a second as Australia and France fought for their spot in the semi-finals over more than three hours.

Regulation time ended goalless, as did 30 minutes of extra-time, and a breathtaking penalty shootout was required to separate these two sides.

In her first Women’s World Cup, substitute Cortnee Vine stepped up as the host nation’s 10th penalty-taker, and became Australia’s hero as she sent the Matildas through to the semi-finals for the first time in the team’s history.

Three shootout saves from goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, despite smacking her own kick into the upright, set the tone for the denouement to a rollercoaster evening in Brisbane and earned her player of the match status.

The heart-stopping, historic victory came after a hard-fought game, with France quickly showcasing their sharp attacking prowess and sending shivers through the almost completely green and gold crowd.

The hits came fast down the left flank as Sakina Karchaoui and Selma Bacha supplied Kadidiatou Diani and Eugenie Le Sommer in the centre.

The pace with which France stormed towards Australia’s defence in the opening minutes sent a nervous hush over the nearly 50,000-strong crowd.

And there were signs of nervousness on the pitch too, which Diani took advantage of in the seventh minute when Matildas centre-back Alanna Kennedy’s attempted clearance went straight up in the air.

As Diani pounced on the dropping ball Kennedy was already on the back foot and could do nothing but snatch at her shirt – for which she somehow avoided a booking. Diani’s shot across the face of goal went out past the far post but the defence looked rattled.

It was an early hand-in-mouth moment