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The Matildas will be without concussed defender Alanna Kennedy for their Women’s World Cup third-place play-off against Sweden.
Kennedy missed the semi-final loss to England through illness, with Football Australia since confirming she is suffering delayed concussion symptoms stemming from Australia’s dramatic quarter-final win over France.
The centre-back took several knocks in that game and notably clashed heads with France striker Eugenie Le Sommer, while she was the only player not to take a penalty in Australia’s winning shootout.
Kennedy’s absence is a huge blow to Australia’s hopes of winning Saturday’s play-off at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
The 28-year-old’s aerial presence, leadership, aggression and organisation were sorely missed in the 3-1 defeat to England on Wednesday, with her replacement Clare Polkinghorne unable to provide the same impact.
Kennedy’s presence in defence and at attacking set pieces will again be missed against Sweden, whose central defender Amanda Ilestedt has proved a threat at both ends of the park during the tournament.
Polkinghorne, Aivi Luik, Steph Catley and Courtney Nevin are the options to replace Kennedy in central defence.
The Matildas looked weary against England after playing 120 minutes plus penalties against France, and are dealing with a tight, three-day turnaround to the play-off.
Tireless midfielder Katrina Gorry trained away from her teammates in Friday’s final session, with her left leg in a pressure wrap.
Coach Tony Gustavsson could need to turn to Alex Chidiac, Clare Wheeler or Tameka Yallop for a spark in midfield against the Swedes.
Gustavsson has shown little faith in his bench throughout the tournament, but he may have no choice given the kilometres his starters have pushed through across their first six games.
Australia have already gone further in a World Cup, men’s or women’s, than ever before by reaching the semi-final and are determined to come home with the bronze medal up for grabs.
After falling short to the USA in the bronze-medal match at the Tokyo Olympics, the Matildas have some insight into how to pick themselves up off the canvas and go again.
“It’s extremely important,” attacker Caitlin Foord said.
“The first thing that came to my mind was the Olympics when we fell short and then we battled for the bronze-medal match.
“Nothing hurt more than losing that game.
“So we have that in the back of our mind going into this game and we deserve to go home with something from this tournament.”
Alanna Kennedy. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has been earmarked as a potential candidate to fix the USA women’s national team after a disastrous showing at the Women’s World Cup.
The four-time champions were dumped out of the competition in a penalty-shootout loss to Sweden at the round-of-16 stage.
It was America’s worst-ever performance at the tournament and head coach Vlatko Andonovski looks set to pay the price, with reports in the USA suggesting on Wednesday his resignation was imminent.
Andonovski’s predecessor Jill Ellis claimed Gustavsson was ripe for the USA job following his exploits with the Matildas.
The Swede, who guided Australia to Wednesday’s semi-final defeat, worked with Ellis en route to the USA being crowned world champions in 2015 and 2019.
“He should definitely be a strong candidate for the job,” Ellis told ESPN.
“I don’t think people are giving him and his staff enough credit for having navigated most of this tournament without arguably one of the best players in the world.
“Most of us as coaches would not have said Australia was even close to being a contender without (Sam) Kerr, so that’s pretty remarkable what they’ve been able to navigate as a staff.”
Gustavsson is contracted by Football Australia until the end of the 2024 Olympics.
He took Australia to the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics but suffered a humiliating Asian Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of South Korea in 2022.
Despite concerns being raised over the Matildas’ direction, FA backed Gustavsson in and reaped the rewards of their enthralling run to the semi-final.
Gustavsson’s side will play Sweden in the third-place play-off in Brisbane on Saturday before Olympic qualifiers in Perth in October.
There will be no live site at Melbourne’s Fed Square for the Matildas match on Saturday or the Final on Sunday following overcrowding and fans letting off flares during Australia’s semi-final defeat to England.
The Victorian Government said that the area was becoming ‘unsafe’ for families after some of the scenes on Wednesday.
“As a result of disappointing behaviour by a small group of people, Federation Square management has made the decision that there will no longer be a live site at Federation Square, due to safety concerns,” said a spokesperson.
“It is clear that if there was a repeat of last night’s behaviour it would be unsafe for families, fans and staff.”
The release of flares, which is common among soccer fans the world over, was seen as dangerous, with one source blaming “a large, rowdy group of mainly male youths, part of the active supporter groups, discharge and throw a significant number of flares”.
Both Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City have active supporter groups, as do several teams in the second tier NPL Victoria. Four men were fined for possession of flares and a 16-year-old was cautioned for throwing a flarer.
“[Flares] are dangerous and I don’t think those people represent the vast majority of soccer fans, football fans who want to enjoy what is an absolutely spectacular game, the beautiful game,” said Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.
Nearby AAMI Park will still be available as a live site and fans are encouraged to gather there.
Matildas fans gather in Federation Square before the Women’s World Cup quarter-final win over France. (Chris Putnam/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Football Australia are hoping the exploits of the Matildas at the Women’s World Cup can put the nation in the box seat to beat emerging superpower Saudi Arabia for hosting rights to the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.
After the Matildas were dumped out at the semi-final stage of their home tournament by England on Wednesday, FA’s attention will now turn to bringing further competitions to Australian shores.
James Johnson’s organisation have been ambitious in their desire to bid for hosting rights to the men’s World Cup in 2034 and the revamped Club World Cup in 2029.
But the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 looms as a much more attainable proposition for FA following record crowds and viewing figures at this year’s World Cup.
“(A successful bid) would extend this window for a major growth in the Australian game which is really being turbocharged by the women’s game,” Johnson told AAP.
FFA CEO James Johnson. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett)
“There’s a lot of logic for that bid, it’s calculated because women’s football is growing rapidly around the world and in particular in Australia.
“We’ve seen the success of the Matildas at this World Cup and we know when we hosted the Asian Cup in 2015 that was a big success.
“We’re taking it seriously and we’re working with state and federal governments to make sure we have the right backing to get that over the line.”
Johnson won’t just have to convince politicians to make the dream a reality, he will also face tough opposition within the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Uzbekistan have officially expressed an interest as have the Saudis, who are positioning themselves as a key player in world football.
The oil-rich state bought Premier League club Newcastle United in 2021 and has managed to lure the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Neymar to its top flight.
Saudi Arabia’s women’s national team, however, only played their first FIFA-sanctioned fixture in February last year.
“They’ve had remarkable growth and the administration there is doing great things,” Johnson said.
“Our competitive advantage is twofold, we can put our money where our mouth is by hosting the best-ever Women’s World Cup – we’re a safe pair of hands and a sure bet.
“There is obviously a link between the success of a competition and the performance of the hosts and the Matildas are a top global team, who will do very well in the Asian Cup.”
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