The Matildas will deal with their FIFA Women’s World Cup opener towards Ireland as a “final” as they embrace the strain and ambiance of a full home at Stadium Australia.
The time has lastly arrived for the Matildas to kick-off their Cup marketing campaign, and there may be real perception within the camp that they are often topped world champions on August 20.
However, star skipper Sam Kerr stated the Australians would undertake a game-by-game mindset relatively than run the chance of considering too far forward.
“Everyone’s here to win (the tournament) so I’ll keep my cards close to my chest, but we’re really confident, but for us, it’s just about the first game,” Kerr stated on Wednesday evening.
“Ireland’s the most important, and right now we’re playing that game with no other game in mind, so that’s our final at this point.
“You’re only as good as your last result, so we’re not one to get too ahead of ourselves.
“We know that the World Cup is different and you have to rock up on the day so we’ll be ready and that’s what we’ve been preparing for the last year.
“It’s not about how we performed in the last few games.”
Those “last few games” have included a 2-0 win over European champions England, in addition to final Friday evening’s 1-0 victory over France in entrance of greater than 50,000 followers at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson stated that have would assist his staff welcome the expectations of a nation relatively than worry the strain of attempting to win the World Cup on residence soil.
“The dress rehearsal against France with 50,000 in the stands was massive for us for our mental preparation,” Gustavsson stated.
“Some players shared their stories of how they felt for the first 10-15 minutes and how they felt when they stepped off the pitch.
“(Defender) Clare Hunt said it took about 15 minutes to get into it mentally and then once she got settled … she felt really good about being really excited about (the game against Ireland) instead of just nervous.”
Chelsea star Kerr stated she “loved playing in front of packed stadiums” and urged her teammates to “live in the moment” and benefit from the help of the group.
Gustavsson stated he had settled on his beginning staff for Thursday evening’s battle, but in addition emphasised the significance of his “finishing” 11.
He refused to provide harm updates, but it surely’s onerous to think about the versatile Tameka Yallop enjoying an element within the match, together with her thigh closely strapped at Matildas coaching on Wednesday following the harm she suffered towards France.
Ireland coach Vera Pauw stated her facet’s star midfielder Denise O’Sullivan would play after recovering from the shin harm she suffered in a trial towards Colombia final Friday evening that was halted after simply 23 minutes because of its tough nature.
Ireland captain Kate McCabe promised her facet wouldn’t take a backwards step if the Matildas received “physical”.
“We’re Irish, we don’t shy away from physicality,” McCabe stated.
“It’s ingrained in us as the hardworking team we are. We’re absolutely prepared for Australia to be physical.
“We’ve looked at games that they’ve played, the game against France, and we know they don’t want to shy away from it either.
“We’ll be prepared to match it.”
Originally printed as Matildas to embrace, relatively than worry, the strain as their FIFA Women’s World Cup marketing campaign begins
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
