Matildas defender Alanna Kennedy says Australia’s model of “smart football” will nullify the bodily risk of Ireland in Thursday’s FIFA Women’s World Cup conflict in Sydney.
Ireland and Colombia had been concerned in a brutal Cup warm-up conflict final Friday night time, with the sport being referred to as off 23 minutes.
It was the Irish who referred to as a untimely finish to the tough recreation when their star midfielder Denise O’Sullivan suffered a shin damage that resulted in her being despatched to hospital,
Both sides didn’t maintain up, and Ireland’s famend physicality is more likely to check the Matildas within the Group B opener at Stadium Australia.
However, Kennedy promised that the match co-hosts wouldn’t be intimidated.
“We’re not only a tough team, but we’re also technically and tactically sound, so it’s a combination of all those things and just playing smart football, whether it’s physical or whether it’s tactical,” the 28-year-old centre-back stated.
“We’ll be ready for whatever they throw at us.”
The groups’ most up-to-date assembly was in September 2021 in Dublin, the place Ireland prevailed 3-2 in a recreation that included an O’Sullivan objective.
However, Kennedy stated the Matildas had grow to be “much more consistent” since that defeat.
“We’re all at our peak at the moment,” she stated.
“At the time, (we were) coming off a major tournament, bringing in new players and playing a different style of play as well ¬- it was just a completely different moment in time.
“We’re a much more consistent team as a collective at the moment, which is what we want to be heading into the biggest tournament.”
Kennedy made a profitable worldwide return from damage within the Matildas’ 1-0 win over France final Friday night time, giving coach Tony Gustavsson a troublesome choice determination to make forward of Thursday night time’s battle.
The partnership between Kennedy and rising star Clare Hunt was rock strong, however the Matildas’ most-capped participant, Clare Polkinghorne, can’t be forgotten regardless of a current foot damage limiting her recreation time towards the French to 10 second-half minutes.
“I’m always not really comparing myself to the players around me. I’m just wanting to put my best foot forward,” Manchester City’s Kennedy stated.
“I know what I bring as a player … and if that means I’m on the field, I’m happy with that.
“The most important thing is we have so much depth (in the centre of defence).
“Between all of us, the support between whoever plays and whoever is coming off the bench and changing the game is unreal.
“That’s just what always makes the Matildas so special, love.”
Tameka Yallop, who injured her knee within the win over France, didn’t practice on Monday.
Source: www.news.com.au
