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Opinion
Tonight’s win-or-bow-out clash between the Matildas and Canada in Melbourne is one of the biggest games of football we’ve ever seen in Australia – and it could well be the making of legends.
The last time Australia lost a game of real significance in Brisbane, they went on to win the tournament.
That was, of course, Ange Postecoglou’s all-conquering Asian Cup side of 2015 – who went down 1-0 to South Korea on a swelteringly hot January night in the group stage, only to gain their revenge by downing the same opponent two weeks later in the final.
A result like that would, it goes without saying, represent a dream outcome for Tony Gustavsson and his embattled Matildas side.
And while there’s no doubt that Thursday night’s 3-2 defeat to Nigeria was a genuinely concerning performance, it doesn’t automatically spell the end for Australia.
What it does mean is that the Matildas need a calm, steady performance tonight against a Canadian side that won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and could still top the group themselves.
The Canucks also have a huge selection headache of their own, with 40-year-old, 325-capped Christine Sinclair starting the 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Republic of Ireland on the bench.
That was the first time the six-time finalist had ever sat out the start of a World Cup match, and after having a penalty saved in Canada’s scoreless opener against Nigeria, the Canadian skipper was limping visibly towards the end of the game against Ireland.
But none of that is Australia’s concern. The selection question we all want answered is whether our own skipper Sam Kerr will feature tonight against the Canadians.
You’d have to think the talismanic striker remains a serious doubt given just how evasive Gustavsson and his Matildas staff have been over Kerr’s condition.
Sam Kerr (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
But with this tournament representing arguably the best chance Australia will ever have to win a World Cup, it’s hard not to think Gustavsson will simply have to roll the dice tonight.
If Kerr is nowhere to be seen, then her calf injury is much worse than the Aussie coaching staff ever let on.
But even if she’s only 60 per cent fit, the Matildas simply must take a massive risk and play her tonight.
That’s because the Aussies were totally bereft of attacking ideas and creativity without Kerr and Mary Fowler on Thursday.
And Gustavsson – who seems to be much quicker with a rehearsed soundbite than he ever is at making substitutions – has so far proved incapable of inspiring his team to any great heights.
So it’s up to the players to get the job done.
Gustavsson has been backed to the hilt by Football Australia to date and if the Matildas fail to progress to the knock-out stage as tournament co-hosts, the Swede should be shown the door.
But as poor as the Matildas were in Brisbane last week – they appeared to fall to pieces as soon as the Nigerians equalised with virtually the last kick of the first half – they have every chance to redeem themselves tonight.
And they’ll do it front of a restlessly sold-out Melbourne crowd at a venue that, despite its lower capacity, should produce the loudest atmosphere of Australia’s group stage to date.
A parochial home crowd will have a role to play – not least because the Matildas seemed to sense just how nervous hometown fans were back in Brisbane on Thursday night.
They’ll no doubt be relieved to be playing in a city that genuinely understands football and knows how to get behind its teams.
Hopefully the Matildas are smart enough to abandon Gustavsson’s hit-and-hope tactics of Thursday, and with any luck the players themselves are calm enough to handle the nerves tonight.
Because this is the biggest game of football we’ve seen on Australian soil in years.
Now is not the time to panic and point fingers. Now is the time to dream.
Of goals. And victory. And of the Matildas sealing a place in the knock-out stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.