Key events
It is important Australian fans don’t take nights like tonight for granted. It has taken decades to reach this point, built on the hard work and dedication of the likes of Matildas great Joey Peters.
In Fifa’s first ever women’s match at the 1988 pilot tournament, Janine Riddington’s goal secured the Matildas victory over Brazil, but Australia did not qualify for the first Women’s World Cup proper in 1991. Four years later, they lost all three matches in their tournament debut. In 1999, my World Cup debut, we got our first World Cup point – a draw with Ghana. We got another point in 2003. Then in 2007, my third and final World Cup, we won our first game – beating Ghana that time. Two draws followed and for the first time we progressed out of the group stage. I remember having such pride at making history with the national team.
When I made my World Cup debut, the idea that Australia could top the group was out of reach – we believed, sure, but we struggled against the might of major football nations. Our games received little attention from the media. We were grateful for our loyal fans, but we would have never packed out AAMI Park.
Caitlin Cassidy
When Majella Card booked tickets to France to barrack for the Matildas in 2019, there were no support groups to follow the women on their World Cup tour. So she formed one.
Now that the tournament is in Australia, the Matildas Active Support group has expanded even further. The group has its own chants, spanning from Waltzing Matilda to Aussie Ole! and always has two drums in the stands. It doesn’t matter if you’re a long-term A-League supporter or a newbie to the game, the only rules are inclusion and respect.
“The community was always there … but [this tournament] it’s definitely different,” Card says.
We want to keep the atmosphere of what makes the women’s game fantastic, which is an inclusive, supportive culture. It’s about lifting up our team and trying to be really loud and proud. Not everyone wants to become a professional football player. A lot of people just want to be fans. And that’s where we try to step in.
The Matildas have arrived at Stadium Australia.
What can we expect from Denmark tonight? Here’s Sofie Engberg Munch:
Starting with either a 3-4-3 or a 4-3-3, Lars Søndergaard can line up his team in different formations, using strong ball-playing midfielders in Karen Holmgaard, Sofie Junge Pedersen, Sanne Troelsgaard, Kathrine Kühl and Josefine Hasbo.
Even though Denmark have no problem keeping possession and prefer this style of play, they are not afraid to defend and go for the counterattack either. Dangerous crosses from Veje, Nicoline Sørensen and Sofie Svava on the wings are a great weapon for Denmark, who will be a threat in the penalty area with their physical abilities.
Denmark XI
Just the one change for the Danes with Stine Ballisager Pedersen returning in place of Nicoline Sørensen from the XI that ground their way past Haiti last time out.
Meanwhile, up in Brisbane, it’s still 0-0 between England and Nigeria with the 90 minutes almost up. But England are down to 10 players with the influential Lauren James sent off for stamping.
Australia XI
The team sheets are in, and as expected, there are no changes to the Australian XI that played so superbly against Canada a week ago. Sam Kerr will have to ease herself back into action from the bench.
Caitlin Cassidy
Eager fans of the Women’s Football World Cup may boast of having been to every Matildas game. Bonny, though, is on a whole different level.
Drinking a beer on the rooftop at Sydney’s Aurora Hotel with a Matildas beanie and a cardboard sign hanging around her neck, she admits humbly: “I got tickets to every game. Then [my partner and I] decided where we wanted to go and sold what we didn’t need … we’ve still got our New Zealand tickets.”
Asked how many of the 52 games played so far she’s been to, she replies: “I honestly don’t know.”
“She’s nuts,” a friend comments dryly.
Bonny has already flown to New Zealand twice to watch the World Cup, including a trip that required her to leave the Canada versus Australia game at half time. She took a red eye to New Zealand in time to see the Netherlands take to the pitch.
“It took me 15 hours to get to Dunedin,” she explains. “And it was worth it because the Netherlands won 7-0 and I got two kits signed.”
Bonny is the lucky charm of her mate’s friendship group tonight, having left the stadium in Melbourne prior to a further two Matildas goals. “If we’re winning at half time,” a friend tells her, “you’re going.”
What even is half eight anyway?
Before we go much further, I just want to register my own private annoyance at the kick-off time. Half-eight! On a Monday night. Come on FIFA…
This is one of the biggest matches in the history of Australian football, at a tournament targeted at kids, and we’re not going to finish until anywhere between 10.30pm and midnight.
I’m not ignorant to the challenges of scheduling – especially the impossibility of predicting who qualifies out of the groups – but surely there’s enough flexibility to avoid a match of this scale being played without a massive chunk of the core audience tucked up in bed?
Caitlin Cassidy
On an ordinary Monday afternoon, Sydney’s Aurora Rooftop Hotel is quiet but for a smattering of office types in the downstairs sports bar. But this is not an ordinary Monday afternoon. Instead, the pub is a sea of green and gold, filled with expectant fans clinking pints, singing chants and embracing ahead of the knock-out game against Denmark.
The supporters group are still buzzing off the back of a 4-0 win against world number seven Canada, a game nobody expected was going to be easy.
For Fatima Flores, though, the dream almost died before it began.
Flores was celebrating a supposed Mary Fowler goal early in the must-win match against Canada before it was disallowed as offside. In the excitement, she fell and trapped her leg between a seat, requiring three support staff to unhook her.
“I’ve got big calves, like Sam Kerr”, she told security several times, as she was wheeled promptly to first aid.
Luckily, a friend of Flores got an iPhone up to watch the game as she was treated, and she was wheeled back to a corner seat by goal number three, where she celebrated Australia’s qualification at the top of its group with the official cheer squad, Matildas Active Support.
“They were trying to get me to get a scan and I said I’m fine, I’m not going anywhere – I need to see the rest of this game. I got to see the rest of it, but I wasn’t on the drums. I just sat with my leg up … if that’s what I have to do to get the Matildas to win, that’s what I’ll do.”
Denmark 🤝 Australia.
While we ease into the business in Sydney, we should also keep an eye on what’s happening up in Brisbane where England and Nigeria are goalless early in the second half of their Round of 16 contest.
Because of all the interest in tonight’s fixture, we’re starting the ball rolling early again on the blog. That means there’s plenty of time for you to send me an email on your thoughts about tonight’s clash, Australian football, or just the World Cup in general. It’s not as if we’re short of talking points, especially after the US Crashed out yesterday in such extraordinary fashion.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v Denmark from Sydney’s Stadium Australia. Kick-off in this Round of 16 clash is 8.30pm AEST/11.30am BST.
And what a clash we have in prospect. The 10th-ranked hosts, backed by 80,000 fans, and fresh off their greatest World Cup performance of all time, against 13th-ranked Denmark, emboldened by a youthful generation and led by one of the most inspirational players in the game.
Australia arrive with renewed vigour after smashing Canada last week. The stress of a group stage upset behind them, and with the fitness of skipper Sam Kerr improving by the day, the narrative around the Matildas has returned to pre-tournament levels of optimism. The challenge for coach Tony Gustavsson will be to retain (or fabricate) the backs-against-the-wall spirit that turbocharged their last 90 minutes of action.
For the Danes, everything from now onwards is a bonus. They failed to qualify for the previous three tournaments, and haven’t reached the knockout stage since 1995. And despite only scoring three goals, this is already the first time Denmark have won more than one game at a World Cup. As underdogs with a free hit, they have the potential to spoil the biggest party in Australian football.
Because we’re into the knockout phase if scores are level after 90 minutes we’ll play extra-time and, if necessary, go to a penalty shootout. Settle in, because this could turn into a long and late Monday night.
