England head coach Charlotte Edwards insists she knows things "won't change overnight" but is "hungry" for the future after England's heavy World Cup semi-final defeat.

South Africa booked their place in a first-ever ODI World Cup final with their 125-run victory over England on Wednesday.

South Africa had dominated as they set a target of 320, mostly thanks to 169 from captain Laura Wolvaardt, and England collapsed in the chase.

They were 1-3 down after seven balls, with Amy Jones, Tamy Beaumont and Heather Knight all dismissed for ducks, and they could only scrape to 194 before they were all out in the 43rd over.

Edwards took over the side in April, inheriting a side reeling from a group-stage exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup, and a 16-0 whitewash in the Ashes to Australia.

The former England captain set the aim of reaching the semi-finals, but their stumble proved costly as they failed to reach the final for the first time since 2013.

"I came into this role knowing it would not change overnight," Edwards told Sky Sports.

"We have performed well under pressure, and some moments we have not seized.

Not to be this year for us this year in CWC25, but we’ve fought with character and determination throughout.

This team pic.twitter.com/3e5h7pTYg0

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 29, 2025

"Overall, we are making progress, but you are defined on your results. We all hoped we could make the final.

"I don't like losing, but I knew what I took on, and it would not be a quick fix."

England had beaten South Africa in two previous semi-finals, but they would have required their highest successful ODI chase in order to reach the showpiece this time around.

Edwards acknowledged the problems the side face to improve but noted that she was excited to see how they will progress.

"I am more hungry now to work with these players over the winter, and hopefully we can do that," Edwards said.

"We need to focus on the T20 World Cup from December to March, and players will be training for that. Hopefully, these players can learn to deal with these situations better.

"We have a performance programme and are targeting 13-15 players who we want for that. It is exciting now. We have a new group of players and talent coming through.

"It is going to be a sad dressing room. There is nothing you can do to make things better. Life moves on pretty quickly. I am hurting too."