Steph Catley insisted Sam Kerr put on the captain’s armband regardless of the returning Matildas skipper not desirous to in her first look of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
After lacking Australia’s three Group B matches with a calf damage she suffered on the eve of the match, Kerr lastly loved some sport time within the Matildas’ 2-0 round-of-16 win over Denmark in Sydney on Monday night time.
Left-back Catley had led the group in Kerr’s absence, however as quickly because the Chelsea star was prepared to come back on within the eightieth minute, there was no doubting within the performing captain’s thoughts who must be carrying the armband.
“She’s been incredible for us off the field, and I was very happy to hand it over to her,” Catley stated.
“She was shaking her head and saying, ‘No, no, no, I don’t want it’, and I was like, ‘Please, this is yours, put it on, go do your thing’.
“It was a massive boost for us. The crowd were obviously ecstatic when she came on. I had never heard it that loud, other than when we scored, so it was a lovely moment, and we’re just happy to have her back.
“Seeing Sammy come back, it was massive for us, and it just put a massive smile on my face.”
Kerr stated it was a “nice gesture” by Catley handy over the armband.
“She’s been smashing it,” Kerr stated of the Arsenal and Matildas defender.
“She’s been leading the team, and … (for) the last 10 minutes, it doesn’t really matter.
“Steph’s a natural-born leader. Me and her share this role. I know most of the time I wear the captain’s armband, but in this tournament, she’s just shown she’s a born leader, and I didn’t think it needed to come to me, but it was a nice gesture by her.”
Kerr stated it was a “relief to be back on the pitch”.
“Hopefully, this is the last time I ever have to talk about the calf,” she stated.
“Every player in the squad has done so well. It’s tough coming home and having so much noise around you, but we’ve all stuck together, and they’ve all done great, so I’m really proud of them.”
The Matildas’ subsequent match is a quarterfinal in Brisbane on Saturday night time in opposition to the winner of Tuesday night time’s round-of-16 battle between France and Morocco in Adelaide.
Catley stated: “Every game so far in the tournament has been so unique and so different.
“Whoever we get in the next round is going to be a completely different challenge again, but … we can take confidence from the fact we’re scoring goals and keeping clean sheets as well.”
Originally printed as Steph Catley tells Sam Kerr to put on captain’s armband and ‘do your thing’ for the Matildas
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
