The trio have appeared at three previous World Cups together and ‘know each other’s game inside out’. Now at their fourth they are preparing for a semi-final Not long after the Matildas’ historic victory over France on Saturday night, after she had helped take Australian sport to a place it had never been, Sam Kerr went back to her roots. To her 1.4 million Instagram followers, the Western Knights junior posted a photo in quadruplicate. It depicted herself arm-in-arm with teammates Caitlin Foord and Emily van Egmond at each of the previous four World Cups.This trio, shining treasures of the Matildas’ golden generation, have been rightly recognised as the fuel for Australia’s attack. The whole squad is tight, but the...
Lionesses’ only loss under Sarina Wiegman came in a friendly against Australia but stakes are much higher nowThey are no longer England. England disappeared overnight. A subtle tonal and linguistic shift began to occur from the moment the final whistle blew at Stadium Australia, and the runes of Wednesday’s blockbuster World Cup semi-final began to take shape. At that point Sarina Wiegman’s team stopped being the familiar faces in the draw, the mother country, the cultural brethren. They are the Poms. And if you’re unclear on the difference then clearly you haven’t watched much international sport between the two countries. England is the place you go on holiday. The Poms are the guys whose noses you want to crush into...
With history to be made a group of young players showed nerves of steel in the shootout to clinch a spot in the semi-finalPenalty shootouts are fastidiously prepared long before they arrive. Every player picks their target, hammering in practice shots again and again until the precise movement is etched into their muscle fibres. But with her name 10th on the list of 11 Matildas penalty-takers, Cortnee Vine did not really think she would have to step up.Yet after 19 penalty kicks and the shootout score at 6-6, Australia’s eyes turned to the 25-year-old as she dutifully made her way to the spot. Brow furrowed in focus, Vine’s calm belied the fact this was her first World Cup and first...
The Lionesses have been made to fight before. But scarcely in a game of this magnitude and intensityFull-time, and the England substitutes in their tracksuits bound on to the pitch in blissful release. Lotte Wubben-Moy jumps for joy. Niamh Charles has a smile the width of Sydney Harbour. Jordan Nobbs wheels her arms around like a DJ. But the faces of their teammates bear subtly different expressions. The injured Rachel Daly lies on the turf, breathing deeply. Millie Bright solemnly applauds the crowd, spent and expressionless. Jess Carter blinks back tears of relief. Perhaps, in order to have truly enjoyed this World Cup quarter-final, it helps not have played in it.For this was a nasty, brutish thing: 114 minutes of...
Quarter-final win over France was an occasion of soaring spectacle for Australia, and the stakes could not have been higher
Australia 0-0 France (7-6 on pens) | Player ratings | Reaction
“We’ve made history.” These are big words. But Matildas winger Hayley Raso is entitled to make them. She played 104 minutes in a titanic World Cup quarter-final struggle against a mighty French side. Then, after being substituted, had the best seat in the house for what those in Brisbane will surely describe as the greatest penalty shootout ever.“You saw the emotion and the scenes afterwards,” she said. “The feelings all around are just so high.” Continue reading...