WOMEN’S WORLD CUP semi-final tickets intended for England fans have been snatched up by Aussies – meaning less than 10 per cent of the crowd is likely to be English.
The Lionesses claimed their spot in the final four with a 2-1 win over Colombia on Saturday.
GettyAustralia fans have bought a significant number of tickets allocated for England supporters[/caption]
GettyEngland will face the Matildas in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday[/caption]
They are now set to face tournament co-hosts Australia at the 83,500-seater Accor Stadium in Sydney.
An additional 1,970 tickets – solely intended for England fans – were released over the weekend in preparation for the clash.
The Football Association provided the access code ‘Lioness’ exclusively for those supporting Sarina Wiegman’s side.
However, a number of Australian fans have used the code to buy tickets instead.
The FA’s access code was allegedly leaked on a Facebook group for fans of the Matildas.
And barely any England supporters were able to get tickets as a result.
One Aussie took to social media to brag: “Scored these English supporter tickets too last night. Proudly going to be wearing our Matildas gear.”
Meanwhile, England fans were left livid after discovering that the tickets had been snatched up.
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One person vented: “I’m actually raging. I hope anyone that has a ticket in those sections gives them as much s*** as possible! So livid.”
FIFA expect there to be around 8,000 England supporters – less than 10 per cent of the stadium capacity – at Wednesday’s semi-final.
However, it is unlikely that figure considers the amount of Australia fans that have bought tickets in the England section.
Despite the overwhelming support for Australia expected at the Accor Stadium, Lauren Hemp insists that it will spur the Lionesses on.
Following Saturday’s win over Colombia, the England forward said: “We’re all so excited. As a group we thrived off the amount of Colombian fans.
“It just makes it so much more exciting so for me I can’t wait to get going against Australia.
“It’s going to be a packed out stadium with so many Australian fans but we know if we play at our best, we are unstoppable so hopefully we’ll be able to bring that.”