“I’m going to be honest,” offered coach Tony Gustavsson on Monday night, after the Matildas’ last-16 victory over Denmark was capped off with the return of captain Sam Kerr. “I could sit here and say it was easy, but it wasn’t. Those decisions are big.”
The return of Kerr in the final stages of the second half in Sydney was a symbolic moment – the return of their “spiritual leader”following her calf injury on the eve of the tournament. Kerr began to warm up with her team holding a slender one-goal advantage; she was brought on after Hayley Raso had put the game beyond doubt. With the match effectively won, her introduction was in some ways a gamble by Gustavsson.
But sometimes, with a wider context in mind, teams need to roll the dice. “When do we use her, if we use her, maybe she needs some minutes to mentally and physically get ready for the next game,” the coach said afterwards. “But that means a risk as well. How much are we willing to risk?”
With the Matildas now into the last eight, the decisions do not get any easier. The basic dilemma is this: with Kerr returning to fitness, and the Matildas having dispatched Canada and Denmark in consecutive games without her (bar those final minutes on Monday), how does Gustavsson return his captain to the starting line-up with disrupting the cohesion that has emerged?
In the wake of Kerr’s injury, the Matildas were forced to chop and change in the opening encounters with Ireland and Nigeria. But since Mary Fowler returned from her brief concussion-induced absence, Gustavsson has stuck with the same starting XI for the last two wins. Caitlin Foord has played on the left wing, combining dangerously with Steph Catley. Hayley Raso has started on the right. Emily van Egmond and Mary Fowler have played together up front, both floating around and making the best use of space. The attacking quartet has been fluid and dynamic, bolstered by the polished midfield pairing of Katrina Gorry and Kyra Cooney-Cross.
Why fix what isn’t broken? That will be the question for Gustavsson and his coaching team as they prepare for the quarter-final against France on Saturday afternoon. But with the stakes even higher, can the Matildas afford to leave their best player, among the best strikers in the world, on the bench in the team’s second ever World Cup quarter-final. At this rarefied level, games can be determined by moments, seconds even. Does Gustavsson want Kerr missing if and when the moment comes?
There is no easy answer. Given Kerr’s gradual recovery from the calf injury, and the composed performances from this settled starting line-up, the safer option would be to keep the striker in waiting. Kerr is the ultimate by way of super substitute – a devastating psychological blow if the opposition is chasing the game, and the spark of life if Australia need to find an equaliser or a winner.
Leaving Kerr on the bench may be the safe choice, the sensible approach. But the Matildas may well never again play in a quarter-final on home soil. In one of the biggest moments in the team’s history, is it better to roll the dice again? With the stakes even higher, is it time for Gustavsson to double-down?
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After the match on Monday, the coach described Kerr’s return as the “cream on the cake” but admitted it also left him with a decision-making challenge. “Who should play?” he asked, not entirely rhetorically. “I have more than 11 players that deserve to start.”
A nation that has fixated on Kerr’s calf for almost three weeks must now wait three more days to find out whether the captain will lead the line or wait in anticipation on the sidelines. Does Gustavsson stick or twist? The Matildas faithful will know about 90 minutes before kick-off on Saturday afternoon, when the teamsheets are released. Until then, there is much for the coach to ponder.
Gustavsson is an affable fellow, full of charm whether his team have won, lost or drawn. At press conferences he has a propensity to respond to difficult queries with a parry: “That’s a really good question.” Whether true gratitude for the inquisition or buying time to gather his thoughts, the coach has an air of sincerity that makes him hard to dislike.
Start Kerr or bring her off the bench? On Saturday, that is the really good question facing Gustavsson.
