BRISBANE, Australia – Allow Tony Gustavsson to make one thing clear about Sam Kerr.
“If Sam is fit to play 90 minutes, she’s starting,” the Australia head coach said the day before his squad faces France in a massive World Cup quarterfinal at Brisbane Stadium.
“That’s not even a question,” he continued. “And the team knows it. We’ve talked about Sam Kerr, whether she is ready to play 90 minutes plus extra time? That’s to be decided tonight. But there’s no question whatsoever. If she is [ready], she’s starting.”
While some managers prefer to keep that kind of information close to the vest, Gustavsson has nothing to hide. He has on his roster what so many players, from French midfielder Eugenie Le Sommer to Matildas forward Emily van Egmond, say is undeniably one of the best players in the world, if not the best.
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Of course Kerr, the 29-year-old captain, has only played 10 minutes in this tournament so far after sustaining a calf injury just before Australia’s opening match against Ireland on July 20. She made her tournament debut in the round of 16 win over Denmark a few days ago. And now that she’s healthy, Kerr is expected to play a major role in Saturday’s showdown (3 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).
[Sam Kerr makes highly-anticipated return as Australia rolls]
Just how much she’ll play, no one knows. She could build up minutes and come on later in the match, or she could very well play the whole game.
As Gustavsson said, the final decision will be made Friday night by the medical staff, a meeting that takes place every game day eve. Kerr could potentially be asked to play more than 90 minutes, though. This is an elimination game, so if things are tied at the end of regulation, she could be needed to go 120 minutes and a penalty shootout.
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Kerr is considered the most dangerous striker in the world. But even a player with that kind of skill, talent and power is still human and the reality is, she hasn’t played a full 90-minute game in weeks. How will Australia’s staff truly be able to get the certainty necessary of her fitness to clear her for takeoff?
Plus, trainers have been holding her back a bit. Kerr asked if she could do some extra running after the Denmark match and was told no. And now, only days later, she could be running quite a bit.
Gustavsson is keen on his team’s fitness levels and its ability to recover quickly. And that includes everybody from Kerr to a player who hasn’t yet come off the pitch.
“We’re extremely fit,” Gustavsson said. “We’re fit, we’re fast, we know that. The schedule the players are playing now is nothing different than what they’re doing in terms of their club [teams]. They can bounce back extremely well and don’t need a lot of recovery time.”
Another thing to consider is if Kerr is deemed ready to start, that obviously means another player that has been earning more minutes in her place will be relegated to the bench. It’s no secret that the Matildas have been impressive and imposing even without their superstar. After all, they’ve made it to the quarterfinal of a World Cup. This side has never made it further than that, which adds an extra bit of pressure being the host nation.
“It will challenge me in some decision-making,” Gustavsson said. “I’ve said it before, it’s not easy because a lot of people deserve to start.”
[Australia’s balancing act: Work in Sam Kerr without disrupting chemistry]
Gustavsson said he doesn’t go over contingency plans or potential substitutes with the team before a match begins. That’s dependent on how the game goes. Do the team need to bolster the attack in a go-for-goal scenario like against Nigeria when Gustavsson moved defender Alanna Kennedy into a makeshift No. 9 role alongside forward Caitlin Foord? Or does it need to shift to five players on the back line as it did against Ireland? Maybe a player is tired – Gustavsson famously has not made a lot of subs this tournament. Or maybe a player is simply having an off night and needs to come off in favor of some fresh legs.
“It all depends on the game in front of us,” Gustavsson said. “And the players have been amazing with that. They actually play the game on the bench. They watch the game and play it so when they come in, they know what kind of momentum [we have], what kind of game [is going on], they don’t just sit like a spectator watching it, which is important to mentally prepare what kind of game you’re going into.”
France, meanwhile, doesn’t seem bothered by the prospect of having to account for Kerr in the lineup, whenever she makes an appearance.
After all, coach Herve Renard has taken down global sensations before. Just last fall, when he was coaching Saudi Arabia in the men’s World Cup in Qatar, his side pulled off one of the greatest upsets of all-time when it beat eventual-champion Argentina and Lionel Messi in the group stage, 2-1.
Whether Kerr is on the pitch, Renard said Les Bleues’ tactics won’t change.
“I know all of the players of Australia, not only [Kerr],” Renard said via interpreter. “Is she going to play tomorrow or not, that’s not what worries me. That’s the decision of her head coach. They have a very good attack that is working well with some forwards that play very well. But that’s also our case. I wouldn’t change my strikers for the ones on the other team.”
“We are aware of everything,” Renard added later. “We know they are a very good team with a fantastic [player in Kerr]. I have full confidence in my squad and in my team.”
[World Cup NOW: Should Sam Kerr start Australia’s quarterfinal match?]
Australia beat France, 1-0, in a World Cup tune-up match three weeks ago, so Renard and Co. got a glimpse of Kerr then, though it was 20-year-old Mary Fowler who came off the bench and scored in the 66th minute.
That game doesn’t mean anything when it comes to Saturday’s last-eight battle, though. No matter how many minutes Kerr plays.
“It’s anyone’s game tomorrow,” Matildas’ defender Elllie Carpenter said Friday. “When it comes to knockout football in the World Cup, I think it comes down to who wants it the most and who’s passionate and who really wants to give it their all. It’s, who’s got that fire? Who’s got that aggressiveness? That’s what it comes down to.”
‘This is only the beginning, we’ve got much more to give’ — Sam Kerr on Australia’s 2-0 win over Denmark
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.
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