Our heroes: Fresh face was Australia’s rock as Arnold stands tall — Matildas WC Ratings
Arnold has come so far in the space of 12 months that it’s almost hard to fathom.But she was given another chance and this time grabbed it with both hands – like she grabbed shot after shot out of the air!
She scored Australia’s first goal of the Cup from the penalty spot to get past Ireland and added another from the 12-yard dot against Canada. Now she’s destined for a move overseas after a World Cup where she was one of the standout defenders of the tournament. The only lowlight on a very consistent run of performances was when she gave away penalty in the third-place playoff.Kennedy has had her fair share of central defensive partners in her century of Matildas appearances, but her stellar combination with Hunt laid the foundation for an impenetrable Australian defence that was key to the team’s record-breaking performance.
But her costly error against England in the semi final sadly took some shine off her overall display.One of only two Australian-based players in the squad , Vine had flashes of brilliance but was unable to show her dazzling best consistently enough.She started the first two games – both very tough affairs, particularly Nigeria where their low defensive block meant she didn’t get much room to run behind the defence.
She defied her 21 years of age with mature and composed performances that have no doubt sparked a frenzy of overseas clubs clamouring to sign her. She seemed to be everywhere in the midfield, constantly harrying the opposition into making mistakes. Perhaps the only negative spot in Raso’s tournament was her lack of an effective link-up with right back Ellie Carpenter and at times her final ball could have been a little better.
Fowler’s effortless ability to glide past defenders had fans up on their feet and will be a star of this team for years to come. She picked up pockets of space between the midfield and defensive lines and exposed defences with her exceptional skill on the ball. She may have gone under the radar due to playing out of position and doing a lot of her best work off the ball, but it was the kind of selfless and hardworking performance we’ve come to expect from a veteran cog of the team.– 6, 8, 6.5, 5 for Kerr, the Aussie captain and talisman of the team. After years without a major injury, this tournament must have been heartbreaking for her to be stuck on the sidelines in the opening stages.
She was used predominantly from the bench for her first three appearances, helping to see out games and ensure the result wouldn’t change.
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