In her first start at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Sam Kerr showed the world exactly what this tournament was missing all along.
Against powerhouse England in the semifinals, Kerr scored her first goal of the tournament in stunning fashion in the 63rd minute to knot the score at 1–1.
Kerr missed the entire group stage due to calf injury suffered on the eve of the tournament and only played sparingly as a substitute throughout the knockout stage. Until Wednesday, her biggest contribution was a penalty converted during a quarterfinal penalty-kick shootout win over France.
But on Wednesday, the Chelsea star received her first start of the tournament and made it count. Taking on two defenders during a counterattack, Kerr rocketed a knuckling shot from beyond the 18-yard box that sent the soldout Stadium Australia into rapture.
THAT'S ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT 🤩
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 16, 2023
GOLAZOOO SAM KERR 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/Gnts261nW2
The goal came at the perfect time for the Matildas after Ella Toone’s opening goal for England in the first half.
The strike was Kerr’s sixth World Cup goal after scoring five at the 2019 tournament. The 29-year-old is Australia’s all-time leading goalscorer—men or women—with 64 goals.
