Speed, skill and scoring: Caitlin Foord rises to Women’s World Cup challenge | Kieran Pender

For all the talk in recent weeks of the Matildas missing Sam Kerr, another of the world’s best attackers has been playing all along

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It was a perfect case study in the brilliance of Caitlin Foord. When the Matildas forward gained possession midway through the first half against Denmark night, she was deep in her own team’s half. This would have come as no surprise to her colleagues, who regularly hail Foord’s defensive work ethic.

The forward quickly dispatched a crisp pass to Mary Fowler. And then she took off. Foord has variety in her attacking arsenal. She can outwit defenders as she runs at them with the ball; she can pass her way through most midfields. But Foord is at her blistering best on the counter-attack, when she launches herself like a rocket down the left flank.