Any time Australia plays England on the sporting field the stakes are a little higher. Just ask Central Coast resident Sonia Lupish.
England beating Australia in the grand final of the Rugby World Cup was the beginning of the end of her relationship with her English ex-husband.
Thankfully, her relationship with her new husband Chas Barclay, also an Englishman, is on much more solid ground and she’s confident they can withstand the stress of tonight’s semi-final between the Matildas and the Lionesses.
“We always support each other’s teams unless we’re playing together but so hasn’t really been an issue until tonight,” Ms Lupish said.
“If there are cracks in the relationship, this type of stuff is intense. [But tonight] it will be tame for us.”
Sonia and Chas’s family rivalry also extends to their daughter Lucie, who supports the Matildas.
“My daughter is absolutely horrified that Chas is not going to support the Matildas,” Ms Lupish said.
“I said I would never support England over Australia ever. So it’s the same thing.”
Mr Barclay says its all good fun in their house, even if he can’t convince her daughter to support England.
“The banter’s good and that’s essential,” Mr Barclay said.
“I think we’re just hoping that we both get to get to bed and have a good night’s sleep.”
The friendly but competitive dynamic will be playing out in thousands of families across Australia tonight as the Matildas play England in Sydney at the Women’s World Cup semi-final.
England accounts for Australia’s biggest migrant population.
More than 960,000 people in Australia were born in England, making up nearly 4 per cent of Australia’s population.
Divided in half
Loyalty to Australia and England is split firmly down the middle in Michael Sadler’s family of six.
Mr Sadler, originally from Manchester, has four children with his wife Nora.
Their eldest son James and youngest daughter Anna support Australia, while their middle child sons Seth and George are backing the Lionesses.
“Up until this point, we’ve both been pretty excited to watch any other games,” Mr Sadler said.
“This game is a bit more tricky.”
Mr Sadler predicts there will be some friendly banter between the kids but will be grateful they were able to see an Australia-England game in their time zone.
“I think there’ll be a bit of kind of argy-bargy between the two that are on Australia’s side versus [the two on] England’s side,” Mr Sadler said.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll accept the result and be happy there was a game, and look forward to watching [the final] on Sunday.”
Converted to Matildas fandom
Shara Quinn came to Australia on a working holiday visa 30 years ago and has found home in Sydney ever since.
Ms Quinn usually supports England and she went to support the team in their quarter-final against Colombia on Saturday.
She watched the Matildas overcome France in their quarter-final just minutes before in a game that went to an intense penalty shootout.
Faced with the dilemma of picking a side, she chose to back the Matildas.
This shootout and the joy it brought to home fans convinced her to back her adopted country rather than England in tonight’s semi-final.
“It’s just been such a successful World Cup here … I’ve got Australian friends that never watch football, who are messaging me and phoning me and they’re so excited,” she said.
Ms Quinn says she’s impressed by the impact it’s made on a country that feels like a “footy nation” with a culture more geared towards rugby league and Australian rules football, contrasting with England where football is a “way of life”.
“The boost that football is going to get here is unbelievable,” Ms Quinn said.
“I think the Matildas are already winners.”