Women's T20 World Cup 2026: 'Going in with the most confidence ever into a semi-final' - England coach Charlotte Edwards on her team's recent form

England Women's head coach Charlotte Edwards expressed her faith in her team after their nine-wicket triumph over defending champions New Zealand Women at the Oval on the evening of June 27.

With the win over the White Ferns, England have qualified for the semi-finals unbeaten, winning five of their five games in the group stages. They were utterly dominant against New Zealand, restricting them to a total of 163, before chasing it down with Danni Wyatt-Hodge scoring an unbeaten 89. The opener has been the highest run-scorer in the tournament, scoring 282 runs at a strike rate of 153.26. Edwards stated that her team is confident going into the semifinals, and they have been bolstered by multiple players stepping up at multiple moments for the team.   

"It is a confident group. They are feeling we can win from anywhere, but equally different people are always putting their hands up within the group and putting in those match-winning performances, which we have always asked for. We are quietly confident and looking forward to a big next week," Edwards said, speaking on BBC Test Match Special.

The Lionesses posted totals of over 200 against Sri Lanka and Scotland, while also scoring a dominant 186 for 7 on a tough wicket against the West Indies at Lord's. They have been dominant in their performances with both bat and ball, with Edwards stating that the goal had been to win the group. 

"The goal was to win the group. To go through unbeaten is really pleasing. Our batting has been particularly powerful and a real positive for us. I thought we bowled really well tonight on a good pitch. You saw how good that pitch was. We seem to be getting better with each game which is really good going into the business end of the tournament," she added.

With qualification scenarios in Group 1 still looking uncertain between India, Australia, and South Africa, England still lacks clarity over whether they will play on Tuesday, June 30 or Thursday, July 2. Tuesday's game has been arranged to accommodate the Indian audience, and should they qualify, they will play in that game. Edwards stated that despite knowing that their opponents could be one of two dominant teams, they would be going in with confidence from the group stages.

"We obviously know now with the teams we are likely to play in the semi-finals, one are world champions of the ODIs [India] and one have played in every World Cup final for the last three years [South Africa] so it is not going to be easy. But we are going in with the most confidence we have ever done into a semi-final and with a lot of belief," Edwards said.

England has made the semifinals of five of the last six ICC Women's Tournaments across formats, but success has eluded them since they lifted the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2017.