Australia XI
Sam Kerr starts on the bench.
Just the one change from Tony Gustavsson following the defeat against Nigeria, and I like it, with Mary Fowler coming in for Cortnee Vine. It reduces Australia’s reliance on the early direct balls over the top and, with Emily van Egmond retained, should give the Matildas more subtle creativity in the final third.
Key events
Rampaging right-back Ellie Carpenter also believes the Matildas are at their best when the chips are down.
Honestly, I feel like we’re best when we have our backs to the wall It’s a do-or-die game, and our spirit – we all know we have to leave everything out there on Monday.
Joey Peters played over 100 times for the Matildas – including winning a do-or-die World Cup clash against Canada. She’s backing the next generation of Australian internationals to repeat the trick.
This team thrives on the pressure. I don’t like the Matildas having to rely on the underdog tag, but against Canada it might suit them. Playing the Olympic champions in a must-win match, this is the final come early. That will help the players in their mindset, knowing this is the biggest game of their lives.
Just on Kerr-watch, I’m being told that she is not warming up with the rest of the matchday squad. Curiouser and curiouser.
The Matildas walk out for their warm-up to some cranking INXS tunes. Potential super sub Sam Kerr is in her boots and kit but is not warming up with the team. pic.twitter.com/3kPiPgR22c
— Kieran Pender (@KieranPender) July 31, 2023
Also in the images below is stand-in skipper Steph Catley, the subject of an email from Ezra Finkelstein. “As a big AFL fan, I was happy to see that the acting captain of the Matildas, Steph Catley, has a strong connection to St.Kilda, and her shirt number, 7, is a tribute to her favourite player, the elegant midfielder Lenny Hayes.”
I didn’t realise this – but there’s proof. Hopefully Catley lifts a few more trophies than Hayes ever did…
Sam Kerr lacing up her boots. This is not a drill.
Ok, time to get into the nuts and bolts of tonight’s match. Let’s kick things off with Kieran Pender, our man with the Matildas, setting the scene from Melbourne.
The group stage maths is relatively simple. Win and the Matildas are guaranteed a spot in the round of 16 at their home Women’s World Cup. Lose and their tournament is over. Draw and the team’s fate will rest with Ireland, who would need to beat Nigeria (with goal difference breaking the Matildas’ way). The only way Australia can be certain of progression is to win – to beat the Olympic champions, a team who twice vanquished the Matildas last year.
I’ve just watched four minutes of Home and Away before realising Australia’s host broadcaster has put most of the pregame where you wouldn’t expect it. Australian fans really are being short changed.
Group C is done and dusted, and it ends with Japan making one heck of a statement, defeating fellow contenders Spain 4-0. Rob Smyth is on the case.
Japan will play Norway in the last 16 after dismantling Spain in spectacular style in Wellington. All four goals – two for Hinata Miyazawa and one each for Riko Ueki and Mina Tanaka – came from brainy, unmerciful counter-attacks. Their coach Futoshi Ikeda would have imagined umpteen positive scenarios last night; I doubt a 4-0 win was one of them. Japan were as near to perfection as dammit.
Spain had all of the ball, almost 80 per cent, but created very little. And, more importantly, they kept walking into the Japanese trap. They will still expect to beat Switzerland in the last 16, but the manner of this defeat could seriously undermine their chances of going much further.
Confused about the permutations around tonight’s match? Fear not, Kieran Pender has you covered.
If the Matildas beat Canada, it will guarantee progression to the round of 16. Lose and their campaign is over, while a draw would put Australia’s fate in the hands of Ireland.
Canada XI
Just one change also for Canada, with veteran Christine Sinclair back in the starting line-up.
Australia XI
Sam Kerr starts on the bench.
Just the one change from Tony Gustavsson following the defeat against Nigeria, and I like it, with Mary Fowler coming in for Cortnee Vine. It reduces Australia’s reliance on the early direct balls over the top and, with Emily van Egmond retained, should give the Matildas more subtle creativity in the final third.
Due to FIFA regulations, tonight’s venue is known seductively as Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Most of the time it’s called AAMI Park, with the insurance company paying for the naming rights since the ground opened in 2010.
Apropos the above, this is very funny.
The Matildas will be in their change strip tonight for the first time this tournament. To the uninitiated it is light blue, but after reading the PR guff from Nike you understand it is much more than that.
The bold colours of the away kit draws inspiration from the vivid sea, a trio of rich colors (sic) helps the away jersey celebrate the country’s natural wonders while a graphic on the inner pride nods to the spirit in which the national team plays.
Righto.
“Given how badly the Matildas executed against Nigeria, I can’t see how they will get past Canada tonight,” emails Robert Moylan, who starts as he means to go on.
“I think they will join the Football Ferns as the biggest host World Cup losers of all time. Guaranteed FIFA will never have another World Cup tournament here (they prefer host teams that can actually get to the group stage), and guaranteed that the Matildas will never play to such a large crowd ever again. They truly broke a nation’s heart. Gustavsson should be sacked for his selections, lousy strategy and for letting players get injured in training during the tournament. I would be happy to never see another Sam Kerr ad because she’s been a no-show, not an inspiration.”
There is already World Cup action underway, namely in Group C, which has been the only one of the eight groups to follow convention after two rounds, which means Costa Rica and Zambia are out, and Spain and Japan are through.
The top two are currently facing off with the winner to play Norway in Wellington, and the loser Switzerland in Auckland in the round of 16. If it’s a draw, Spain will top the group on goal difference, although at half-time Japan are 3-0 up.
The bottom two are fulfilling their contractual obligations here:
Because of all the interest in tonight’s fixture, we’re starting the ball rolling early here 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.
I especially don’t want to deny any Colombian fans the opportunity to gloat after their team’s staggering performance against Germany yesterday.
Just under two hours to kick-off and in amongst the evening commute the Melbourne sporting precinct is buzzing.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Canada v Australia from Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Kick-off in Match 35 of World Cup 2023 is 8pm AEST/11am BST/6am EDT. It is going to be one of the biggest nights in the history of football in this country.
It all comes down to this for the Matildas. From this point onwards every match is sudden death. They simply have to win, or the World Cup dream is over.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not yet anyway. A squad packed full of top-level talent – headlined by arguably the world’s greatest player – was expected to cruise into the knockout phase with a wet sail. But a calamitous couple of weeks threaten to derail years of preparation.
From Sam Kerr’s injury and Mary Fowler’s concussion, to Nigeria’s ebullient upset, things have unravelled quickly. But it’s been that sort of a tournament with the gap between the best and the rest narrowing, and all the major contenders facing obstacles. If Australia want to remain among those contenders, they must demonstrate nerves of steel tonight.
But they could hardly be coming up against a less inviting opponent than Canada. Ranked 7th in the world – three places higher than the Matildas – Canada are the reigning Olympic gold medallists. They are extraordinarily experienced, with ten squad members boasting 90 international caps or more. And they only require a draw to progress, so there’s no demand for them to open up and allow the space Australia’s attackers crave. They visited these shores last September, defeating their hosts twice.
Like Australia, Canada’s tournament has been far from perfect, but their opening round draw against the Super Falcons sees them a point better off than the Matildas heading into tonight’s dénouement. By 10pm they will hope it’s the point that sends them to the last 16.
