England suffer Netball World Cup heartbreak as New Zealand win to set up Australia final

England's netball stars suffered World Cup heartbreak as they fell at the penultimate hurdle in their bid for global glory home soil.

New Zealand goal shooter Maria Fola and team-mate Ameliaranne Ekenasio were on clinical form as they squeezed past the hosts to set up a mouth-watering final with rivals Australia.

England suffered an early scare in their semi-final as Folau gave New Zealand a 5-0 lead inside the first four minutes.

Folau, who had been booed during the pre-game introductions after recently defending her husband Israel's controversial religious beliefs, scored four from four to get the Silver Ferns off to a flying start.

After showing some nerves in front of goal, England recovered to haul back the deficit but still faced a big task as they trailed 12-9 at the end of the first.

Nerves continued to be in evident for England who slipped six points behind midway through the second quarter, prompting coach Tracey Neville to make changes.

Neville switched the respective roles of Housby and the misfiring Harten, and introduced Natalie Haythornthwaite in place of Chelsea Pitman.

The move made a dramatic difference as Housby hauled England level before Harten belatedly rediscovered her form to shoot her team 24-21 in front with a quick-fire triple before the break.

Nerves continued to be in evident for England who slipped six points behind midway through the second quarter, prompting coach Tracey Neville to make changes.

Neville switched the respective roles of Housby and the misfiring Harten, and introduced Natalie Haythornthwaite in place of Chelsea Pitman.

The move made a dramatic difference as Housby hauled England level before Harten belatedly rediscovered her form to shoot her team 24-21 in front with a quick-fire triple before the break.

England fell further behind before a crucial interception from Harten helped haul the deficit back to two as the game moved deeper into the final quarter.

But the superbly-poised Ekenasio was showing no signs of the raucous home crowd getting to her as she continued her flawless scoring record to put New Zealand five points clear with seven minutes to go.

Despite again reeling in their opponents to a two-point gap heading into the final minute, New Zealand hung on for a 47-45 win which means England's long wait for a place in a World Cup final goes on.