Sam Kerr Will Start In Australia’s Quarterfinal Against France If Fit

Australia captain and key striker Sam Kerr will start in Saturday’s Women’s World Cup quarter-final against France if she is fit to play, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said.

A calf injury on the eve of Australia’s opener against Ireland sidelined Kerr for the game and the Chelsea player also missed their 3-2 defeat to Nigeria as well as a 4-0 win over Olympic champions Canada in the group stage.

The 29-year-old finally returned to the pitch in their 2-0 win over Denmark in the last 16, making her first appearance at the tournament as she came on in the final 10 minutes.

With Kerr having limited game time under her belt and other attackers excelling in her absence, there were doubts if she would start against France, but Gustavsson cleared any speculation.

“I want to be very clear here now to say if Sam is fit to play 90 minutes, she’s starting,” Gustavsson told reporters on Friday at the pre-match press conference. “There’s not even a question and the team knows it.

“We’re talking about Sam Kerr here, whether she is ready to play 90 minutes plus extra time, that’s to be decided tonight. But there’s no question whatsoever that if she is (fit), she’s starting.”

Mary Fowler and Emily van Egmond have stepped up in Kerr’s absence and if Kerr starts against France, one of them would have to be dropped by Gustavsson.

The coach said he is confident the players will be ready to adapt as the Matildas aim to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time. So far, their best result has been a quarter-final finish, which they achieved in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

“One thing this team have shown over the last half a year is that no matter what lineup we start with, or the lineup we finish with, they all know it takes 23 in 23,” he explained, referring to the squad of 23 players being ready to perform in the 2023 World Cup.

“Meaning everyone is ready to step on and off if they need to. They have been amazing teammates supporting each other, there have been no complaints whatsoever in terms of who starts and comes off the bench. They know their role and they play their role.”

The full Matildas squad trained on Friday morning, except Kyah Simon who only took part in some of the session as she trains to return from a long-term ACL injury. Gustavsson suggested that Simon might be introduced as a substitute or involved in the penalty shootout against France if the situation arises.

‘Biggest Game’

Australia and France met in a pre-World Cup friendly last month, where the World Cup co-hosts won 1-0, thanks to a second-half goal from Fowler. Saturday’s game in Brisbane would of course be very different, with so much at stake for both teams.

Matildas midfielder Ellie Carpenter said the quarter-final against Herve Renard’s side would be the biggest game for the Matildas, who are ranked 10th in the world, five spots below their European opponents.

“Tomorrow is probably one of the biggest games of our careers,” Carpenter said. “What better than doing it tomorrow in front of our country, our nation. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us.

“We couldn’t be more ready. We’re very excited. France are a world-class opponent, we know their strengths, we know what they can do. But it’s a World Cup and anything can happen.”