Sam Kerr is pushing to start against England tomorrow, and her return to fitness has left Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson with a dilemma.
Before the Women’s World Cup, Chelsea star Kerr had formed a formidable partnership up front with Caitlin Foord. But when Kerr injured her calf ahead on the tournament, it forced Gustavsson into a re-think.
For Australia’s opening game, a 1-0 win against Ireland, he paired Foord with Mary Fowler. He then partnered Emily van Egmond with Foord for their second game, a shock 3-2 defeat by Nigeria. Neither partnership clicked and so, needing to win their final group game against Canada to reach the last-16, Gustavsson reached for his safety blanket.
Foord was moved to the wing, where she was able to reignite her partnership at club level with left-back Steph Catley. The pair have played together at Arsenal since 2020 and have developed what Australia assistant coach Aaron D’Antino calls a “telepathic” understanding. It certainly looked that way, as Australia ran out 4-0 winners, with Foord registering an assist and Catley scoring.
“I personally love it when she’s on the left,” says Catley. “We know each other so well, we don’t even have to think.”
Gustavsson has stuck with that formula since then and it has worked for the Aussies.
“It’s a bit of a comfort zone, so it was natural,” says Foord. “As soon as we got out there, we were just excited to share that connection we have and make things happen.”
Gustavsson takes no credit for Catley and Foord’s connection, admitting last year that he has Arsenal to thank.
“That’s not our work, that’s the players and Arsenal,” he said. “When you see them play together at Arsenal and the job that Jonas [Eidevall] and the club have done with them, it is just about bringing that back here and saying, ‘Copy and paste’.”
Now, with Kerr “ready to go”, the headache for Gustavsson is what to do against England.
Catley and Foord have helped get Australia’s World Cup campaign back on track, and breaking up their partnership to move Foord back up front with Kerr would be a bold move.
The alternative would be for Kerr to play up top with either Van Egmond or Fowler, or be used as a weapon off the bench.
Interestingly, Gustavsson spoke this morning about a “best finishing XI” and, given Kerr’s lack of action due to her injury, Australia may save her for the end of the game and start Van Egmond with Fowler.
“When it comes to the line-up, we will have a discussion tonight again about minutes,” said Gustavsson. “I think consistency and chemistry is key for any team that wants to be successful. I have some tough decisions to make.”
