30 July 2023 , 14:57
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Australian striker Sam Kerr might have insisted ahead of Monday’s must-win encounter with Canada that she was fit and raring to go, but Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson has cast uncertainty over his star’s role less than 24 hours before kick-off.
The Matildas have been forced to navigate the initial stages of the World Cup without their enigmatic talisman, who sustained a calf injury on the eve of the tournament’s commencement.
While Kerr’s teammates rallied to a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their opening match, the Kerr-sized chasm proved too large as the co-hosts slumped to a shock 3-2 loss against Nigeria.
The defeat means Gustavsson’s side must get the better of the reigning Olympic champions if they are to avoid joining New Zealand as the only hosts in the history of the Women’s World Cup to not make it out of the group stages. (A draw with Canada would see the co-hosts reliant on the result between fellow group contenders Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland.)
The task is tall, and the prospect of another match sans Australia's game-changing leader is enough to send any fan of Australian bent into a panic. Those initial pangs of alarm were momentarily assuaged as Kerr declared emphatically on Saturday that she was “definitely” fit for Monday’s match.
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Yet, Gustavsson seemed to contradict his striker’s sentiments, stating he needed to meet with Kerr and the team’s medical staff on Sunday evening to decide how best to balance risk and reward in the crucial match.
“We’ve been clear from the first day – that we knew that she was going to miss the first two games and then be assessed for this game,” he said. “And that was going to go down to the wire – a new expression for me that I learned yesterday.
“We’re going to have a meeting tonight with the medical team and Sam and discuss what the possibilities are for her to play tomorrow. And then we’re going to do some tests tomorrow and see what it looks like.”
Australia's forward #20 Sam Kerr observes from the sidelines after being ruled out from the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup Group B football match against Ireland (P(Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Image)Since Australia were handed the keys to host this summer's Women's World Cup, the spotlight has been brightly fixated on Kerr, whose fitness and form is widely considered critical to any successful campaign.
Whether Gustavsson is attempting to soften the blow if the Chelsea star is not named in his starting XI or if this is an employment of mind games remains to be seen. The manager refrained from disclosing Kerr's injury in the lead-up to Australia's opener against the Republic of Ireland, despite Kerr having hobbled off the training pitch some hours earlier before spending the afternoon fronting media as if nothing was amiss.
Avoiding revealing any explicit plans is understandable, most notably when those plans may or may not include utilising the inarguably most influential player in the team. Yet, the conservative tune crooned by Gustavsson in the wake of Kerr’s more bullish assessment is striking.
“You’re available, but there is also risk when you come back from a muscle injury,” the Matildas boss said. “We need to balance how many minutes is she available, what are the risks, if we manage to go through to the playoffs, playing time and so forth. So there’s a lot on the table to discuss, and we probably won’t know how exactly we’re going to use that until coming into the stadium tomorrow.”
According to Gustavsson, Kerr will be involved in the decision -- “All decisions made for medical purposes is the medical team together with the athlete,” he said -- and it's difficult to imagine Kerr acquiescing to the bench.
An all-or-nothing showdown on football's biggest stage on home soil is precisely the big-game setting in which Kerr thrives most. And if Kerr says a certain thing will happen, it is historically good practice to believe the 29-year-old.
Ahead of Chelsea's FA Cup final against Manchester United earlier this year, Kerr noted the indisputable fact that she'd never stepped foot in Wembley Stadium without walking out with a winners medal around her neck.
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Less than 24 hours later, Kerr was walking out of Wembley Stadium with another winners' medal, having graced a domestic record crowd with her trademark backflip somersault having turned in Pernille Harder's cross in the second half beyond United keeper Mary Earps. Kerr has yet to treat her home crowd to that trademark celebration, but Monday has all the ingredients for her to do just this.