Sam Kerr returns off the bench as Australia down Danes to reach Women’s World Cup quarter-finals
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Australia's Caitlin Foord (in yellow) slotting the ball past Denmark goalkeeper Lene Christensen to give her side the lead.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY – Co-hosts Australia welcomed captain Sam Kerr to the fray for the first time in the tournament as they beat Denmark 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup at Stadium Australia on Monday.
Attackers Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso scored either side of half-time before Kerr, who has been absent with a calf injury, came on as a 80th-minute substitute to the biggest roar of the night from the crowd of 75,784.
The Matildas’ record scorer with 63 goals said: “Bit nerve-racking. I’m not the best bench player in the world, nervous... Me coming on, personally, it was big relief after a big three weeks.
“The girls smashed it... I was going to play last game but the girls smashed it. They didn’t need me.”
Denmark dominated the early exchanges with Pernille Harder looking particularly dangerous, but faded as the game went on with their first World Cup campaign since 2007 destined to end in the last 16.
Australia, who have reached the last eight at three previous World Cups but never gone further, move on to meet either France or Morocco in Brisbane on Saturday with a place in the semi-finals on the line.
“We were under a lot of pressure that first half, but we didn’t get rattled. The team is very mature playing tournament football and can find a way to get it done,” said Australia coach Tony Gustavsson.
The Danes looked the far better side in the first 20 minutes with their press disrupting Australia’s attempts to build any fluency and Harder roaming up front probing for gaps in the home defence.
The Matildas’ forwards were being crowded out when they did make inroads into the Danish half, and it was when their midfielders pushed forward from deeper positions that they looked most dangerous.
Mary Fowler took the ball in such a position in the 29th minute and produced a stunning pass that carved through the Danish defence and found Foord streaking down the left channel.
Foord’s touch took the ball to the edge of the six-yard box, where she slid it between the legs of Denmark goalkeeper Lene Christensen for her first goal of the tournament.
A huge roar went up on 69 minutes when Kerr was shown on the big screen putting on a match shirt, but Australia had doubled their lead before the Chelsea forward came on.
A Fowler pass into the box found Emily van Egmond with her back to goal and the forward controlled the ball well before sliding it out to Raso, who lashed it into the net from an angle.
Kerr’s first touch was a wild cross-field pass to no one, but she was soon bursting into the box with the ball at her feet to fire a shot over the bar.
“It’s massive for us to have a player like that back, it boosts our confidence,” said Foord, who was named Player of the Match.
“We know we need to take it up another level if we’re going to go all the way. REUTERS, AFP
