Matildas beat Canada, Sam Kerr injury, news, analysis, next game, schedule, results

HOW KERR MYSTERY INSPIRED MATILDAS TO ‘WIN FOR HER’

Two days before the Matildas’ opening match of the World Cup, captain Sam Kerr injured her calf. It sparked a two-week media frenzy, full of dramatic takes in the newspapers and on Twitter (sorry, it’s called ‘X’ now). Did the Matildas do the right thing by not revealing the news when Kerr fronted the press conference the day before that Ireland match? Just how bad was Kerr’s injury? Would she even play at all?

It’s been the biggest storyline of the World Cup, at times stealing the focus away from some truly incredible performances on the pitch (like 18 year-old cancer survivor Linda Caicedo of Colombia, or Japan thrashing Spain).

Even in the minutes before the Matildas kicked off against Canada, there was still rampant speculation over whether she would play at all, after being named on the bench but not warming up with the team pre-match.

In the end, she was not needed against Canada at all, spending the match handing out water bottles to teammates or cheering them on, riding every kick from the sidelines.

After the match, coach Tony Gustavsson revealed Kerr had been available ‘for limited minutes’ – but the team had rallied behind a call to arms, to win without their star striker and not risk her.

Gustavsson said: “Part of the reason why I think they were so united and performed the way they did was what Sam said to the team: ‘Make sure you win without me so I can get another week to train and recover and get healthy.’

“The team responded and said: ‘Yes we will, you sit on the bench and we’ll win for you.’ You could see that conviction and commitment from the players so that Sam gets another week of training.”

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Asked if the coaches had planned all along to keep Kerr on ice, he said: “It’s the medical team and Sam that makes the decision. I was informed that she’s available but for limited minutes.

“We agreed together to say if we can win us a week for her to not risk her to reinjure herself, we’re going to try to protect her and try to win without her. That was always the aim. If we would have been in a situation where we would have needed her, she was willing to take that risk and come on. But she was also very clear (by saying) ‘let’s not get to that point’ and we didn’t, so we were all very happy about that.”

Asked what moment in the game he felt he wouldn’t need to call on Kerr, Gustavsson’s reply was telling: “It felt almost even before the game that the players were so convinced to do it without her that we kind of said: ‘let’s focus on that first’, and then we go to that option if need be.”

After two weeks of Australia worrying about her fitness, of fearing the team could not fire in her absence, the Matildas banded together and delivered the perfect response.

Now she’s been given precious extra time to get fit, while Kyah Simon, who hasn’t featured at all this tournament as she continues to recover from an ACL tear from last October, could also come into contention for minutes moving forward.

GUSTAVSSON GETS IT RIGHT

Coach Tony Gustavsson has been under plenty of pressure this week. His tactics in the defeat to Nigeria were heavily questioned, like throwing a centre-back in as a makeshift striker and bombing balls forward in desperate a hoof-and-hope approach.

His use of substitutes – having made just four in total across the first two games with none before the final quarter-hour – also came under fire, especially as Nigeria made four substitutes and led 3-1 before Tony even turned to the bench.

And there were plenty of calls for changes to the starting line-up too, particularly bringing in Alex Chidiac who he prefers to utilise off the bench to be what he repeatedly calls his ‘game-changer’.

Against Canada, Gustavsson did not turn to Chidiac, nor did he change his approach to substitutions, once again only making changes in the final 15 minutes.

But he made bold calls elsewhere that set the team up for success. That included keeping the experience and calming influence of Emily van Egmond in the starting side, even if it meant pushing her into an unusual centre-forward position.

The usual centre-midfielder was put up front alongside the returning Mary Fowler, which meant dropping winger Cortnee Vine despite solid performances in the first two games. Instead, he moved Caitlin Foord from striker to the left side for the first time this tournament (more on that game-changing decision below).

But crucially, Gustavsson learned his lessons from the last two games. Australia greatly reduced the number of long balls they attempted over the top of the defence, instead attempting to pass the ball forward quickly in transition.

The Matildas also changed their approach in the final third, looking to get their heads up and make intelligent passes rather than an aerial bombardment like their 37 attempted crosses against Nigeria.

Caitlin Foord’s assist for the third goal, getting to the byline before cutting the ball back for Mary Fowler, was the perfect example of the Matildas’ improved approach in the final third. The result was that they created better chances – and took them.

Against Ireland, Australia took 13 shots with just two on target, and against Nigeria they took 27 attempts with seven of those on target. This time around, it was nine shots with six on target – and four goals to boot.

Part of that was down to playing an opponent that wanted to control possession rather than sit in a defensive low block. The stats show how different this game was to the previous two: Australia had less possession than an opponent for the first time in the tournament. They attempted 456 passes against Ireland, 465 against Nigeria, and just 305 against Canada.

But Gustavsson deserves credit for setting the team up perfectly for a counterattacking assault, with crucial changes to how the defenders played the ball out from the back, how the midfield corps rotated and used space, and how the wingers and strikers executed their play in the final third.

Coaching a national team isn’t an easy task, especially when they are contenders at a World Cup on home soil – and even more so when they are facing being knocked out in the group stages.

Gustavsson has certainly been feeling the pressure, and it seemed to get the better of him when he confronted the officials late in the first half in a fiery blow-up that rightly earned him a yellow card.

He’ll be feeling a lot better now.

THE ‘PHENOMENAL’ LINK-UP THAT TORE RIVALS TO SHREDS

It was the link-up that ripped Canada open time and time again.

Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord were almost telepathic in every facet of their play in the Matildas’ victory.

Catley would almost-instinctively ping balls over the top and Foord would be already racing onto it before it had left the Matildas skipper’s foot.

The fact Foord and Catley were so in sync with one another’s games was not exactly the product of endless drilling in training over the past few days, either.

The duo are both in the line-up for WSL heavyweights Arsenal and have enjoyed several years in the Matildas set-up.

The Canada fixture was the first time we had seen Foord and Catley line up on the left flank this tournament and it paid dividends.

For Catley, the opportunity to revisit her club partnership with Foord was one she absolutely relished.

“I personally love it when she’s on the left,” Catley said.

“We know each other so well, you don’t even have to think. It’s very natural.

“Wherever she is on the field, she’s dangerous.

“Come the rest of the tournament, I don’t know what’s going to happen but when she’s out on the left I absolutely love it and we have a fun time out there for sure.”

Speaking after the game, Gustavsson revealed it was a key tactical plan to have the pair run riot on the left side but stopped short of confirming if the two will link up in a similar way for their next clash.

“On the left side, we felt we wanted a little bit more combination on the left side,” Gustavsson said.

“Caitlin and Steph have a unique relationship and understanding when they play together.”

Former Matilda Amy Chapman waxed lyrical about just how good Foord looked when placed in a wider role as opposed to being more central, which is where she’s often been played this tournament.

“Phenomenal from Caitlin Foord,” Chapman said.

“That’s what you get when you put her out wide … you can see what you’ve been missing.”

Who knows if it will be a one-off or if Gustavsson will turn to other tactics, especially if Kerr comes back into the line-up.

But Foord and Catley have now given opposition players and managers something to fear when planning to face the Matildas.

‘ABSOLUTELY ELECTRIC’ ATMOSPHERE DELIVERED FOR THE MATILDAS WHEN THEY NEEDED IT MOST

For their first two games of the World Cup, the Matildas played in front of 75,784 against Ireland in Sydney and 49,156 against Nigeria in Brisbane.

For their final Group B fixture, just 27,706 fans – the majority decked out in green and gold – packed into the stands at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

But don’t let the smaller attendance figure fool you.

Despite being a smaller venue than Stadium Australia and Brisbane Stadium, the noise was deafening and if there had been a roof it was surely blown into orbit when Hayley Raso opened the scoring.

Well, at least before it was incorrectly ruled out by VAR and then subsequently overturned.

If anything, the initial decision to disallow Raso’s first goal served as the metaphorical fuel that lit the fire.

The fans cranked up the volume even louder and the players evidently fed off it.

The Matildas flew into crunching tackles, they found an extra gear when sprinting onto loose balls and relentlessly pressed the Canadian side without fear.

Raso was the one who had supporters up on their feet and delirious when she found the back of the net twice, but she perhaps couldn’t quite soak in the moment for her goals.

But once she was subbed off late in the game and got to listen to the roar when Catley buried her penalty, only then did Raso realise how absurd the noise was.

“Being on the bench for that fourth goal and seeing the stadium erupt was so cool,” Raso said.

For star defender Clare Hunt, a smaller stadium compared to the likes of Stadium Australia perhaps paid dividends and was exactly the right kind of atmosphere the team needed in a must-win clash.

“The crowd was wonderful, Hunt said.

“I think in terms of having a smaller crowd in a more intimate venue is really, really helpful.”

For skipper Catley, a Melbourne product herself, being able to not only score but win in a game of such magnitude was the absolute dream.

“The crowd was absolutely electric,” Catley said.

“They were so loud, they’re so informed about our team, they know every single player, they ride every tackle, every pass.

“They’re so invested and they were so loud. It was absolutely incredible.”

The Matildas will now return to the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia for their Round of 16 contest, with their opponent yet to be determined.

But the atmosphere served up in Melbourne was exactly what the Matildas needed when they needed it most.