Late? Maybe. But better late than never. Nineteen days in, and the tournament Australians had long been anticipating finally got underway on Monday night. There she was. Standing in her No 20, glowing yellow, waiting on the sideline.
The roar at Stadium Australia was ridiculous – for a substitute coming on with 10 minutes to go, in a game that was all but wrapped up. Stand-in skipper Steph Catley, running over to Sam Kerr to hand her the captain’s armband. The gesture, thick with symbolism.
By that stage, it seemed inevitable. The script long written. But rewind back two hours and it was anything but.
Footage beamed around the ground from the moment the Matildas arrived in the bowels of Stadium Australia showed Kerr step down off the bus, avoiding her injured left calf. Walking past the camera, she wore the same frown she has carried around for two weeks. What could it mean? Focus perhaps. Determination? Then again, she had suffered an injury days before the start of the biggest tournament of her career. Maybe it was pain.
As the Matildas came out to warm up, there was Kerr again. Standing alone, with her hands behind her back. The only thing upbeat about her was her pink boots. At one point she stood on the fringes of a possession game of her teammates. The ball spilled to her, as if willed by the 75,784 fans in attendance. She passed it back, then turned and walked the other way.
The match had begun and beneath the curved dugout, hidden from half the stadium, Kerr seemed to retreat. By the 10th minute, she had her grey blanket up to her chest. Half hiding an enormous aqua-marine puffer. The biggest early contribution from the Australian captain? Back-up keeper Teagan Micah asked her to pass her jacket, sitting on the ground nearby. Kerr complied.
With Kerr’s role long diminished, Australia needed a lift. It was Caitlin Foord that picked them up. Her blazing finish after a sensational release from Mary Fowler sent the entire Matildas bench lurching towards the sideline. There were Kerr’s pink boots in a sea of grey and aqua, surging forth. In the aftermath, there was Kerr, celebrating as … normal? There was no limp. No frown. It was equivocal – she was, after all, waving a grey blanket – but there were signs of life.
At the same ground 19 days before, when Kerr appeared on the big screen midway through the dour 1-0 victory over Ireland, it was awkward. No cheers, but murmurs. And whispers about the injury that had become known just hours before.
On Monday night, when Kerr reappeared on the screen seconds before half-time, the loud welcome was significant. The crowd was buoyant, optimistic, and made Kerr grin and chuckle. Perhaps she knew something they didn’t.
At the start of the second half, another twist. There was Kerr chatting with three members of the Matildas’ staff. Then off she marched to the end of the ground along with winger Cortnee Vine. And so begins the longest warm-up since Melbourne in December.
First there are the low-intensity shuffles. The twists, turns, jogs, half-sprints. The pair stop to do groin stretches. By this stage an enthusiastic group wearing red and yellow life-saving uniforms has latched on. Kerr as the modern-day Merv Hughes, the third row mimicking every move.
And still the warm-up drags on. There is the assistant coach with a headset. Presumably updating Tony Gustavsson with Kerr’s progress. Then another assistant arrives. Could he be giving instructions to the captain? No. He leaves soon after, having only addressed Vine.
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By the 59th minute – almost 15 minutes into the session – Kerr finally takes her aqua jacket off. The yellow, quickly covered by a bib, is momentarily blinding. Another ten minutes, and she’s tightening her ponytail. She runs towards the bench. Could this be the moment the tournament’s poster star makes her bow?
No, instead, she runs past the bench, past Gustavsson. All the way up the tunnel. A flash of disappointment for Kerr’s keenest fans. Perhaps it was just a long warm-up, to test out the calf.
But then almost instantly she’s back. Taking off her yellow undershirt. Now she’s on the big screen. Another cheer. Now she looks … ready to play.
Wait now. There’s Hayley Raso, smashing the ball into the Danish net. For a moment, Kerr is forgotten. But not for long.
Once the board goes up, and she dons her armband, the place erupts. Australia 2-0 up, and now this. Kerr is on. She leaps for a header. Performs a beautiful turn. The calf survives. Yes, there’s rust. She sprays a switch of play out for a throw in. She blazes over on a late attack. But there she is, Australia’s No 20. Back at last.
Afterwards, she said she has just tried to be a “good teammate” in recent weeks. She praised the team for getting them to this stage, saying they have “absolutely smashed it so far”.
Now, a quarter-final. Now, just three wins from World Cup glory. And now the Matildas have Sam Kerr.
