TIMESINDONESIA, JAKARTA – Australia trailed New Zealand to win the opening match of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup after beating the Irish side 1-0 at the Sydney Australian Stadium on Thursday (20/7/2023) afternoon local time.
Despite their defeat, the Girls in Green Ireland put up an incredible fight and left the pitch with their heads held high.
Australia, who have emerged as tournament favourites, got off to a strong start to their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign in front of a record crowd of around 83,000.
But coach Matildas was dealt a blow when Australia captain Sam Kerr, an hour before kick-off, ruled out the game against the Republic of Ireland with a calf injury.
Sam Kerr suffered a calf injury during the warm-up for Wednesday’s final training session, a day before the opening of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
The Chelsea striker will be assessed after the Matildas’ second Group B game in Brisbane on July 27 and before they face Canada in Melbourne four days later.
Although his teammates will hope to rely on his sharp eye to score goals with Canada and Nigeria forming the ‘group of death’.
Australia team manager Tony Gustavsson after his team’s narrow victory also said his party knew this game would be tough. “All the teams here will fight,” he said.
“Anybody can beat everybody in this tournament. We knew set pieces would be a big part of that and I have to commend the team for how they handled all that play in the final stages,” he said.
“They’re one of the best teams in set-piece attack and we’ve taken care of that,” he added.
Steph Catley then took the captain’s armband from Kerr, and he was finally able to bring victory to Australia from the penalty spot.
A few minutes after the break the breakthrough came, but not by Australian trickery but by Irish error.
Kyra Cooney-Cross sent another speculative diagonal ball into the box, but this time Raso was clumsily knocked down by Marissa Sheva. Referee Edina Alves finally pointed straight to the point.
Foord initially looked set to take the penalty but instead handed the ball to Steph Catley who entered the moment with great confidence and faced it head-on. Goals were inevitable.
Australia, who beat Ireland 1-0, next face Nigeria in Group B on July 27 at Brisbane Stadium.
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