England fan to sit at ‘other end of couch’ from Australian wife for semi-final

An Englishman living in Australia with his Australian wife says they plan to “sit at opposite ends of the couch” as they watch England face Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals.

Alex Finlayson, who is originally from Redcar in Middlesborough and now lives in Jimboomba, Queensland, Australia, said watching the match with his wife Kelly will create an “odd atmosphere”, but he will continue to root for the Lionesses.

Mr Finlayson said he will be outnumbered on match day as he and his wife will watch the game with their daughter Charli, 14, son Samson, 12, and their Australian friends who will all be supporting Australia.

England supporter Alex Finlayson hopes the Lionesses will win against Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-final game (Alex Finlayson/PA)

The religious education teacher told the PA news agency: “It’s going to be interesting and it’s going to be fun, but we’ll be at opposite ends of the couch for a while.

“I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but it will be fun to find out.”

Mr Finlayson, 41, added: “My wife just gets passionate about (football) and obviously she’s an Aussie so she’d be passionate about Australia, but she loves England as well so it’s going to be a very odd atmosphere.”

The teacher said he would feel disappointed if England lose, but would remain excited for Australia if they win through.

He said: “I’ll be gutted if England lose. But I think relatively quickly I’ll also be excited to see Australia play in the final.

“Obviously, I’d be much happier to see England play in the final. Either way, I will be respectful regardless of what happens.

“If both teams played fair and really well, I think that would be easier to handle England losing.”

Alex Finlayson with his daughter Charli, son Samson and wife Kelly (Alex Finlayson/PA)

Mr Finlayson said he is a fan of England goalie Mary Earps in particular, but noted that Australian forward Mary Fowler might be a bother for England in the semi-final after her performance in the previous round.

He also hopes that the Lionesses avoid another altercation following Lauren James’s two-game ban after she stamped on Nigerian player Michelle Alozie during the team’s last-16 clash.

He said: “I was a little bit disappointed with the whole Lauren James stamp incident – bit of a rush of the blood to the head there – but she’s only a kid, isn’t she?

“She’ll be kicking herself now missing out on a semi-final, but she’ll learn from it.

“I’d like to come out of (the semi-final match) without that happening.”

I don't know how it's going to work out, but it will be fun to find out

Alex Finlayson

Meanwhile, in true English fashion, he strongly feels the match against Australia will result in penalties.

“I don’t want it to be, but I’ve had 41 years of watching England playing sports and that just seems to be the way it pans out,” he said.

“In a perfect world, Alex Greenwood hat-trick 3-O right from the get go, but early in the first 20 minutes and then we can all just relax.”

With tension in the Finlayson household likely to be high on Wednesday, the school teacher advises other couples like him watching the match to invest in a larger sofa.

“Get a big couch and stick the kids between you or one of you can hide behind it if it does get a little bit tasty, then you can have a little distance,” he said.