Match Report
The CommBank Matildas have won their opening group stage game 1-0 in front of a record crowd of 75,784 at a raucous Stadium Australia. Steph Catley’s second-half penalty was the difference as Australia held on in a nervy last 20 minutes for the win.
Tony Gustavsson and his coaching staff were dealt a curveball before the game, with captain Sam Kerr ruled out for the first two games of the tournament with a calf injury. It was acquired in training on Wednesday. Gustavsson was tight-lipped about his starting 11 in the MD-1 press conference, but was firm about knowing his plan.
“Not only do we know the starting 11, we also know the thoughts we have in terms of game changes and the plan for the finishing 11,” he told journalists.
The plan involved Mary Fowler coming into the starting line-up for Kerr. After her goal was the difference on Friday night against France in the CommBank Matildas send-off match, the coach was confident that the 20-year-old from Cairns would be able to handle the occasion. Otherwise, the team was unchanged from their 1-0 victory in Melbourne.
