If the sight of Caitlin Foord at full tilt wasn’t ominous enough for Australia’s next opponents, the prospect of her being joined by strike partner Sam Kerr certainly is.
“For teams looking ahead it’s pretty scary to know she’s now back in the team and she’s going to be a part of it with us,” Foord said after her player-of-the-match performance against Denmark.
Foord scored the opener with a sizzling counterattack after being unleashed down the left by Mary Fowler and went on to cause all sorts of problems with her pace and physicality.
With Australia leading 2-0 in front of another packed stadium and with just over 10 minutes of the match remaining, Tony Gustavsson decided it was time to give Kerr her first minutes of the Women’s World Cup.
“It was a massive boost for us to have her back, not only for us but for her as well,” Foord said.
“This dream is for her as well and she plays a massive part in our team.”
Gustavsson said it was a big decision to bring Kerr on almost three weeks after she injured her calf, ruling her out of all three of Australia’s group matches.
But if anything, the results Australia have managed to pull off without their striker – with the exception of the loss against Nigeria – showed the weight need not be on Kerr’s shoulders as the tournament progresses.
“I do not say this out of disrespect to Sam because you know how much I love working with Sam and how much I say she’s the best forward in the world, but I think Sam coming back here could be a good thing in the sense that we don’t need to look at her and have everything on her shoulders,” Gustavsson said.
“It’s a team effort and, I don’t know how you say this in English, but is it the cream on the cake? The cherry on the cake? The icing on the cake? It’s that extra that comes in.
“I have more than 11 players who deserve to play. Good on them.”
Denmark dominated the opening 15 minutes of the match, but their coach Lars Sondergaard conceded the match was ultimately decided by Australia’s efficiency in front of goal and singled out Foord.
“A player who makes it difficult for her opponents,” he said.
“She’s physical, quick and a danger in front of goal. They probably deserved to win, even though I’m very happy about and proud of the Danish performance out there, the bravery out there. They played with heart.”
