Australia is pinning its hopes on Kerr and factoring the land to great achievement
Australia has been unable to go beyond the quarter-finals in the Women’s World Cup during its past seven participations, but with Sam Kerr in a brilliant squad, the hosts hope to take advantage of the ground factor to go far and try to win the title.
The Australian national team, nicknamed “Matildas”, is considered one of the teams that are always present on the world stage, by qualifying for the finals since the second edition in 1995 and reaching the quarter-finals 3 times between 2007 and 2015.
In his last participation in 2019 in France, his career ended at the price of the final at the hands of Norway after losing on penalties, but he seems fully ready this time to compensate, especially as he is hosting the finals that start on the 20th of this year, in partnership with his New Zealand neighbor.
The Australian national team prepared remarkably for the finals of the ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup by beating Spain 3-2 in February, before stunning England 2-0 away from home in April, ending 30 consecutive matches for the English women without defeat.
In the presence of Kerr shining in the colors of Chelsea, Australia is one of the favorites to go to the end and win the title, but coach Tony Gustafsson stresses the need not to be overly optimistic.
The Swedish coach, who took over in 2020, said: “I have always believed in this team, in loyal and committed players like this. But I think it’s very important to be humble.” He continued, “We need to stay in that boring gray area (between optimism and pessimism), the middle place and maintain our humility, but we know that on any day we can beat the best team, even if we do not have the best team.”
Botillas is the best game in the world and the hope of Spain (AP)cut out
If Australia is to lift the World Cup, they will need their captain, Kerr, who is 29. It is expected that the historic top scorer for Australia will be the most prominent star of the tournament, because she is currently one of the best players in the world.
Kerr acknowledged that the World Cup on home soil brought additional pressure, but also an opportunity, explaining: “It will be the greatest honor in the world to represent your country in the World Cup on home soil in front of your family and friends.”
And she continued, “We hope that this team will remain stuck in our minds forever, and that we will represent Australia in the best way possible, and show that Australia can be a real football country.”
But, as was the case of Gustafsson, she stressed the need to focus on each match separately, starting with the opening match of Group Two against Ireland on July 20 in Sydney, which will be the second match in these finals after facing New Zealand and Norway in Group A.
“Ireland are a very good team,” Kerr warned. It’s about taking each match individually. You can lose matches if you look far ahead, and this is an important lesson that we learned from the last World Cup.
The group also includes Canada and Nigeria.
And with the timely return of Spain star Alexia Potillas, there is a group of prominent names that will miss the World Cups in Australia and New Zealand due to serious knee injuries.
Potillas (29 years old), the best player on the planet, missed last year’s European Championships in England, after suffering a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.
She spent more than 9 months out of action, but retained the Women’s Ballon d’Or and the FIFA Player of the Year award during her absence before returning in April.
2023-07-13 21:27:00
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