Rugby League World Cup 2013 Scores: Semifinal Results and Key Moments

England lost an absolute classic to New Zealand, while Australia overcame a tough Fiji side to decide the two teams who will face off in the final at Old Trafford on November 30.

England	18	20	New Zealand
Tries: O'Loughlin, Watkins, Burgess			Tries: Tuivasa-Sheck (2), Johnson
Conversions: Linfield (2)			Conversions: Johnson (2)
Penalties: Linfield			Penalties: Johnson (2)

In the first of Wembley's two semi-finals, England were arguably the better side across the 80 minutes, but occasional errors eventually combined to sink their World Cup hopes.

New Zealand brought their trademark physicality to the game, but England matched them the whole way, putting up a series of bruising defensive stands and presenting the All-Blacks with a wall of white.

The home side had a few chances to seal the victory, with Ryan Hall missing two chances to hit clear space and claim four points.

The first came on 65 minutes, when Hall found daylight and broke free, but his balance let him down and he stumbled to the ground untackled at the 20-yard line.

If that wasn't enough, he intercepted an errant New Zealand pass with under two minutes left in the game. With nothing in front of him but empty space, he was unable to hold on to the ball, and it fell to his feet. Hall's expletive-filled scream of despair said it all.

Up by four points, that try would have left New Zealand requiring two of their own to win the game.

In such a close battle, there was no real turning point until the final minute of the game. New Zealand had six tackles to win the game, and England kept them pinned back with three solid stops. 

On fourth tackle, George Burgess lunged at Sonny Bill Williams in a manner that suggested a very tired man. The tackle was high, and New Zealand were granted another six opportunities to win the game.

Shaun Johnson supplied a quick moment of magic and breezed past two tackles to take the ball over the line. He duly converted his own try to take New Zealand through in one of the best games of rugby the league has ever seen.

Australia	64	0	Fiji
Tries: Thurston, Boyd (2), Cronk, Hayne (3), Papalii, Tamou, Morris, Fifita
Conversions: Thurston (11)
Penalties:

Australia went into the second semi-final with hopes of repeating the 52-0 beating of Fiji that they inflicted in 2008, but first they had to start solidly.

Fiji came at Australia from the outset, befitting their status as physical players. Although their strength is a positive for them, their technical deficiencies were on display from the outset.

When Johnathan Thurston—who scored a hat trick in the victory mentioned above—sold a dummy pass and breezed through the Fiji defence, it was clear that this game would be much less evenly matched than the one preceding it.

That was just eight minutes into the contest, but already the floodgates were open. 

Australia went over again just three minutes later, but were denied when video referee Ben Thaler judged that the contact on Akuila Uate by Brent Tate was excessive.

Not to be dissuaded, Australia burst through four minutes later for a try, then again three minutes after that. 

It was a dream start for the Kangaroos, helped in equal part by their own skill and Fiji's inability to respond. After 35 minutes, Australia were up 28-0 and the game was over.

From that moment on, it was just a question of how many point would be scored as Mexican waves made their way around Wembley.

The pressure was on Fiji from the moment Thurston put the first points on the board, and after that their opponents were in complete command. The final score of 64-0 came as a triumph for Australia and a massive relief for Fiji.