SYDNEY -- Sarina Wiegman is wary of the threat Australia star Sam Kerr poses England in the World Cup semifinal on Wednesday but has warned that there is more to Australia than just one player.
Kerr is regarded as one of the world's best players but missed the start of the tournament through injury. She returned in the Matildas' round-of-16 win over Denmark and then played 65 minutes against France in their 7-6 quarterfinal penalty shootout win on Saturday.
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But this has been a remarkable team performance from Australia and on the eve of their World Cup semifinal in Sydney, Wiegman is wary of the collective threat the Matildas pose.
"Australia is not just Sam Kerr," Wiegman said. "Yes, we have a plan [if she starts]. She can play and she can start on the bench, so that's the situation."
She added: "Of course [Kerr] is a threat, she's a very good player, so a lot of respect [to her]. But there is more than Sam Kerr, because at the end it is always a team performance.
"When the team does really well an individual can do even better. That's the same for Australia and it's the same for England. There is a lot of pressure on her because everyone expects things from her. I think Australia have grown in the tournament too, they had some difficult situations they had to come back from and they did really well. We expect a very strong Australia tomorrow."
This is by far the biggest meeting between England and Australia in their footballing history, and the talk this week has been around the traditional rivalry between the two countries. This summer has seen England's men and women contest Australia for the Ashes, while Australia defeated England in the netball World Cup final earlier in August.
Wiegman has been learning about the England-Australia rivalry this week, but said it's not something the team are considering. "I asked players and I asked staff [about the rivalry] and for us and for them we don't feel that rivalry that much, the main thing is that there's a lot of rivalry in rugby and cricket and last week with the netball," Wiegman said. "We just know it's going to be a very competitive game.
"Lots of players from Australia also play in the Women's Super League so they know each other really well. Of course they want to beat us but we want to beat them so that's the main competitiveness we will get in front of us tomorrow."
Wiegman dismissed any notion that Australia are underdogs for the semifinal on Wednesday, and captain Millie Bright is relishing the chance to play in front of a sold out Stadium Australia.
"Their fans are always going to want the opposition to lose, that's football. We know that we're going to have fans there, yes they're going to have more, but we've been in these moments before and as players we've embraced these moments," Bright said.
"It's all about us sticking to task, executing the game plan and embracing the moment. It's the semifinal of a World Cup, you want that environment, you want it to be tense, you want it to be noisy.
"It's a proud moment in the women's game when people turn on the TV back home and they see what an incredible atmosphere we've created. Credit to Australia for selling out the stadium and creating that atmosphere because like we always know, the women's game is still on a journey but what a place to be.
"We know as an England team, there's always pressure and it's something that you embrace and deal with and for us it's staying focused, staying on task and sticking to the game plan. And we've experienced moments like this tense environment, big stages, big crowds. We thrive in those moments and it gives us energy, but ultimately it's about sticking to tasks and executing the gameplan."