Fifa Women’s World Cup: uncertainty hangs over Kerr’s future as Australia ponder life without star striker
- Matildas boss Tony Gustavvson refuses to reveal extent of calf injury that kept Sam Kerr out of opening win against Ireland
- Chelsea striker is likely to miss her country’s next Group B game against Nigeria as well
Uncertainty hangs over Sam Kerr’s involvement in the Women’s World Cup after Australia coach Tony Gustavvson refused to reveal the extent of the calf injury that kept his star striker out of the opening win over Ireland on Thursday.
Chelsea forward Kerr has been the public face of the event in Australia throughout the tournament’s lengthy build-up, but the injury sustained in training the day before the tournament kicked off has left the 29-year-old’s involvement in serious doubt.
The Australians face Nigeria in Brisbane next Thursday before taking on Canada in Melbourne on July 31, and will be hoping Kerr can recover for the final group game against the Olympic champions after labouring to their win over the Irish.
“As you all understand it’s obviously devastating for me, for Sam, for the players,” Gustavvson said of the loss of Kerr, who is expected to miss the meeting with the Nigerians.
“I know we have a lot of questions on Sam here, but I also want to respect Sam and the team by not going into too many details of that at this point.
“What I can say is that Sam was very clear early when she brought the team together to say this is not about me, this is about you.
“She wanted to be focused on the team and the players and to be able to do that, in that devastating moment for her personally, says a lot about her as a captain of this team.”
It was stand-in captain Steph Catley who made the difference for Australia against the Irish, scoring from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute to earn Gustavvson’s side a 1-0 win in front of a crowd in excess of 75,000, a record attendance for the Matildas.
But Kerr’s absence was keenly felt as the Australians laboured both creatively and in front of goal, putting on a performance that raised questions over their ability to go far in the competition and launch a serious challenge for the title.
Gustavvson admitted Kerr “means a lot for us emotionally and spiritually” but he was confident his team could function without the forward, having seen Mary Fowler score the winner in a friendly against France last week when the experienced forward was no longer on the pitch.
“We’ve had a couple of opportunities to play without her in these two years preparation,” he said. “There’s a belief in the team.”
The victory over Ireland at least ensures the Australians have three points on the board in their quest for a place in the knockout rounds, with the top two in each group advancing.
“I’m very, very, very happy to get three points in an opening game in the World Cup and get a win and get that first game done,” Gustavvson said. “I’m very happy in that sense and it might be one of those games where we just needed to find a way to win.
“I’ve been around in tournament football long enough to know that sometimes it’s those games where you just need to grind through and find a way to win. That showed some maturity in this team.”
Gustavvson’s attention now turns to Nigeria, a team he expects to present a new challenge to his players.
“We said when we saw the draw that we had three very, very unique opponents from a football tactical perspective,” he said.
“The Nigeria game is going to be something completely different from a tactical perspective. They’re going to have completely different formations, different tactics, different individual skill sets.”
