Australia vs England: Who are Sarina Weigman and Tony Gustavsson? Meet the managers ahead of semi-final clash

England’s Lionesses will take on Australia in Sydney at 11am UK time today (August 16), with a place in the World Cup final on the line. Over 75,000 people are set to be in attendance for the game in what could be a historic moment for the Lionesses.

The winner of today’s contest will take on Spain for the trophy this Sunday at 11am UK time, after they beat Sweden 2-1 to book their trip to the final. So far in the tournament, England have beaten Haiti, Denmark, China, Nigeria and Colombia.

Meanwhile, Australia have defeated Republic of Ireland, Australia, Denmark and France, but did suffer a group stage loss to Nigeria. A number of England legends including David Beckham and Jill Scott have been wishing the Lionesses luck ahead of the game.

As the two sides get set to clash in the semi-final, we take a look at the managers in the dugout, Sarina Weigman and Tony Gustavsson.

Sarina Weigman

Born in Holland, Sarina Weigman was a former professional footballer turned manager who took over the England Lionesses team in 2021. Before that, she started off her playing days in college for North Carolina Tar Heels and then went on to play professionally for Dutch team Ter Leede. She spent her entire professional career at the club, between 1994-2003 and also made 99 appearances for the Dutch national team.

Weigman then started off her managerial career at Ter Leede in 2006, where she won the Dutch championship and the KNVB Cup in 2007. She then went on to become  manager of the ADO Den Haag women’s team, who would be competing in the newly established Women’s Eredivisie. In 2012, she led ADO to the Eredivisie title and KNVB Cup.

In 2014, Wiegman left ADO to become assistant coach of the Netherlands women’s national team, as well as coordinator of the women’s national under-19 team. In 2015 and 2017 she was appointed interim manager of Netherlands, eventually leading them to victory in the 2017 European Championships.

After being given the job permanently, Wiegman led Netherlands to the final of the 2019 women’s World Cup, in which they were defeated 0–2 by the United States

Wiegman then took over at England in September 2021,leading the Lionesses to victory in Euro 2022 with a 2-1 win over Germany at Wembley Stadium.

Tony Gustavsson

Born in Sweden, Tony Gustavsson has managed in both the men and women’s game and also had a lengthy playing career in Sweden.

Gustavsson first managed Degerfors IF. He was then in charge of Hammarby IF from 2006 but was sacked when the club was relegated from the top flight in 2009.

He is best known for his managerial success in women’s football, leading Tyresö FF to the 2014 UEFA Women’s Champions League Final and helping the United States women’s national team to two world championships in 2015 and 2019 as an assistant.

In September 2020, he joined the Australia women’s national team as the head coach.