Australia captain Sam Kerr hopes to deliver iconic moment at home World Cup
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Once a winger, Sam Kerr has banged in 55 of her goals in her last 72 internationals.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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MELBOURNE – Sam Kerr was a spellbound seven-year-old when she watched indigenous Australian Cathy Freeman inspire a nation with an electrifying run for the 400m gold at the Sydney Olympics.
Twenty-three years on, the captain of Australia’s Matildas hopes to conjure another iconic sporting moment for home fans at the Women’s World Cup, which is being co-hosted by New Zealand.
“Just watching how one person can be so focused and have the weight of the nation on her back, that really appealed to me as a kid,” said Kerr.
“I feel we can have a ‘Cathy Freeman moment’. Everyone knows where they were when Cathy ran that race.”
The stage could not be better set for Kerr and her teammates, who may be the best Australian squad assembled at a World Cup.
Winning eight of their last nine matches, including a 2-0 upset of European champions England, Tony Gustavsson’s side have emerged as genuine contenders from a bleak period in 2022.
Football has never been the country’s most popular sport – Australian Rules football and rugby league contest that claim.
However, Australians are in the mood for more football heroics after their unfancied men’s team made it to the last 16 at the Qatar World Cup in 2022, losing to eventual champions Argentina.
With no big-name players, Graham Arnold’s Socceroos relied on grit and team spirit in Qatar.
But the Matildas have a global superstar in Kerr.
Australians may struggle to name more than a few top women footballers, but Kerr is on the lips of every passing fan and her face on billboards in every major city.
The country’s most prolific striker with 63 goals in 120 appearances, Kerr is also a magnet for global brands and became the first woman on the cover of EA Sports’ Fifa, the world’s most popular football video game.
Some 3,000 people packed Fed Square in Melbourne last Tuesday to greet Kerr and her teammates ahead of the Matildas’ final World Cup warm-up against France at Docklands Stadium.
“We’re going to need you for this World Cup,” she told the cheering crowd. “So pack the stadiums, wear your yellow, green and gold.”
France’s Elisa De Almeida (left) and Australia’s Sam Kerr fighting for the ball during the international friendly match on Friday.
PHOTO: AFP
They listened as an Australian record crowd for a women’s football match of over 50,000 witnessed the 1-0 win.
On the break, there is probably no deadlier finisher in women’s football or better header of a ball, despite Kerr’s relatively modest 1.67m frame.
For all the benefits, Australia’s heavy reliance on Kerr has brought its challenges, particularly when midfield service is wanting.
Gustavsson has added pacy attackers like Cortnee Vine and Hayley Raso to his squad with the hope of creating more avenues to goal for the Matildas.
Australia will face Ireland, Nigeria and Canada in the group phase.
“Having someone like Sam Kerr though on your team is so much nicer than playing against her at club level, as I’ve done in England,” said new Real Madrid recruit Raso.
“Sam is an incredible athlete, she scores goals for fun and is one of the best in the world...
“We’re really lucky to be able to play alongside her.”
Forever a target, Kerr said she would be glad to be shut down by opponents if it allowed a teammate a chance.
“If two people are marking me, that means someone else is free,” she said.
“It might be someone else’s tournament to shine.” REUTERS
