The eyes of millions of Australians will be glued to screens across the country on Wednesday as the Matildas take on England’s Lionesses in the World Cup semi-final clash.
For those hoping to celebrate a potential Matildas victory alongside fellow Australians, plenty of live sites have opened up in the capital cities for fans.
The majority of state premiers have opened up more live sites inside stadiums and squares ahead of the highly anticipated match.
Those 80,000 people lucky enough to score tickets will head to Sydney’s Stadium Australia at 8pm on Wednesday to watch the do-or-die game.
Full list of live sites here:
Sydney:
- Tumbalong Park (FIFA FAN Festival)
- Western Sydney Stadium (CommBank Stadium)
- Sydney Football Stadium (Allianz Stadium)
- North Sydney Oval
- Mackey Park
- Outside Stadium Australia
Melbourne:
- Federation Square (FIFA Fan Festival)
- AAMI Park
Brisbane:
- Multiple live sites at South Bank (FIFA Fan Festival)
- Riverside Green
- Riverstage
- King George Square
Adelaide:
- Festival Plaza (FIFA Fan Festival)
- Memorial Drive
Perth:
- Forrest Place (FIFA Fan Festival)
NSW Premier Chris Minns announced on Monday that Western Sydney Stadium in Parramatta and Sydney Football Stadium in Moore Park will be opened to the public so that thousands of Australians can watch the match together.
Those stadiums are in addition to the FIFA Fan Festival hosted at Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour, which has seen more than 202,000 attendees enjoy games so far in the contest.
“The Matildas run at this FIFA World Cup has captured the nation; their quarter-final win was the highest rating TV event since Cathy Freeman’s 400m gold medal run at the Sydney Olympic Games,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said.
“We’re opening up more big screens at Western Sydney Stadium and the Sydney Football Stadium – we want to give NSW every chance to break that viewing record.”
For those trying to get tickets to the actual game, it will be a difficult ask as FIFA’s official resale site has no ticket options and hospitality packages have sold out.
There are also limited tickets on sale for Tuesdays semi-final between Sweden and Spain, meanwhile tickets are also unavailable for the third place match and for the grand final.