Karen Carney was utterly dismayed yet intensely proud. Prominent amid the maelstrom of emotions was concern for Laura Bassett, her best friend and the scorer of the stoppage-time own goal on Wednesday that gave Japan a place in the World Cup final.

That cruel 2-1 defeat brought England’s challenge to a jarringly abrupt conclusion. As the fireworks flaring into the humid July air near England’s downtown Edmonton hotel marked Canada Day, Carney and company were busy consoling the Notts County centre-half.

“I felt heartbroken when I realised the ball had crossed the line,” said Carney, who has been close to Bassett since they became Birmingham team-mates as teenagers. “I’m particularly heartbroken because Laura’s my best mate; I just feel for her. She’s inconsolable and we didn’t deserve that as a team. We deserved to go through. We were the better team. It’s crap, isn’t it!”

A Japan side who had been a little condescending towards England ended up being really put through their paces and the winger Carney gave the impression she will not cheering them on in Sunday’s final against the USA in Vancouver.

“Their karma, or whatever it is, will get them,” she said before turning her attention to the legacy the Lionesses trust will be created by their achievement in reaching a semi-final for the first time. “We believed we would come back with a gold medal, we believed we would win the trophy but we haven’t,” she said.

“Hopefully, though, we’ve inspired a nation. Hopefully we’ve changed a lot of stereotypes and a lot of people’s perceptions about women’s football.”

The sense that a watershed has been reached is acute. “Hopefully people now fully respect us,” Carney said. “Hopefully young girls, and young boys, now admire England, are backing our team and have rediscovered a love for the game.

“I think we’ve got a lot of respect for the way we are as people. We’re just normal people who put on a jersey for our country and give everything. Television viewers would have seen that after the game, seen how heartbreaking it was for us.”

And one player in particular. “We’re all looking after Laura, letting her know it wasn’t her fault,” said Carney. “We’re there for her; we’re a team through all the highs and lows. We have to stick together.

“We just need to look after Laura now. We’re 100% going to give her all the love and support she needs. Losing wasn’t just about the own goal, it just wasn’t meant to be today.”

As Bassett enjoyed the additional consolation offered by her boyfriend and her brother – who, without accreditation, performed the not insignificant task of persuading Fifa officials to permit him into the Lionesses’ dressing room to comfort his sister at the final whistle – Carney attempted to look forward to Saturday’s third place play-off against Germany. “We’ve got to get our jerseys back on,” she said. “We’ve got to try and get that third place.”

It was a message reiterated by Steph Houghton. “Now we have Germany,” said Mark Sampson’s captain. “We’re desperate to finish third. Fingers crossed we can do that.

“We’re devastated to have lost to Japan but they are world champions for a reason and we were immense. Hopefully we did the nation proud. Our aim was to try and inspire young girls in England – and we were that close to the final. Football really can be very cruel but we’ve had amazing highs in this tournament.

“We have to respect Japan – they’re world champions for a reason. We wanted to go one step further but our failure wasn’t for a want of trying. It was just that Japan never gave in. Every one of our players gave everything on the pitch, there was no energy left. I couldn’t be prouder of everyone.”

During the Lionesses’ long trek across Canada, all the way from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, they have increasingly captured hearts and minds – and Houghton could not be more delighted.

“We’re aware a little bit of how we’ve been received back home but when I talk to my family they tell me how much it has gripped the nation,” she said. “We wanted to do England proud and I think we have.

“The amount of TV exposure we’ve had and the attention women’s football has got has been brilliant. We want to be role models. We hope girls are inspired to start playing at a younger age and try to get to a World Cup themselves.”