Title dream at home World Cup lives on
Australia outclasses Olympic champions Canada
7/31/2023 2:03 p.m
Australia breathes a sigh of relief: The soccer team from the World Cup hosts beat Canada in the group final and stormed furiously into the round of 16. Hayley Raso becomes the match winner with her two goals. The Canadians, on the other hand, disappoint across the board.
Goal heroine Hayley Raso roared her pure joy in the tangle of her teammates, the rested superstar Sam Kerr walked smiling across the lawn – and the big party started in the stands: The Australian World Cup dream is alive! With a show of force against Olympic champions Canada, the “Matildas” raised high hopes for the domestic title coup and finally got their compatriots into football fever.
“You have inspired the nation,” gushed the Sydney Morning Herald. It was “unique”, emphasized coach Tony Gustavsson: “Look at how the fans carried the team. And then the players, this group has something very special about it.” He was “very, very proud and privileged” to be able to experience these moments. After the embarrassment against Nigeria (2: 3), the Australians gave the Tokyo champions no chance in the 4: 0 (2: 0) at the end of the group, so they booked their round of 16 ticket after all.
“Someone asked Sunday if this is a legacy defining moment? Is this a crossroads moment? Yes it was and we didn’t shy away from it,” said Gustavsson. Next Monday (12.30 p.m.) against the second in group D, possible opponents are Denmark or China. In the form of Melbourne, this should by no means be an insurmountable hurdle. Defensively stable, attacking and imaginative – the Matildas radiated a lot of brilliance in front of 27,706 spectators. And Kerr, who has recovered from her calf injury, was not even needed and was on the bench for 90 minutes.
In this condition it can go further than ever before, the best tournaments in 2007, 2011 and 2015 ended in the quarterfinals. Hayley Raso (9th/39th), Mary Fowler (58th) and captain Steph Catley (90th + 4, penalty after video evidence) made the hosts cheer at AAMI Park. “All the noise outside. The way they just wanted to get out, play the game and be true to themselves was something very special,” enthused Gustavsson of his team.
On the other hand, there were tears among the Canadians, who surprisingly failed in the preliminary round with four points for the first time since 2011. Christine Sinclair’s World Cup career came to a bitter end at the age of 40. “Reality caught up with us but you have to give Australia the credit they were the better team,” said coach Bev Priestman. “Football is cruel, it wasn’t our night and that’s it.” Meanwhile, runners-up in the group, the Nigerian side have reached their third knockout round at the World Cup. A 0-0 draw against Ireland in Brisbane was enough for the Super Falcons to advance to the round of 16 like in 2019. In 1999 Nigeria was even in the last eight, which at that time followed directly after the preliminary round.