A shattering 3-1 semi-final defeat to England has knocked the Matildas out of World Cup contention at Stadium Australia.
The ride ends here. Well, not quite - there’s one more match to go, but it’s not the one the Matildas wanted to play in, or Australia wanted to see.
The Matildas were 1-0 down and being comprehensively outplayed. Kerr single-handedly dragged them back into the contest, as the greatest players often do. But they could only stay in it for another eight minutes, until Ellie Carpenter failed to properly deal with a long ball, and Lauren Hemp took maximum advantage to put the Lionesses back in front.
The cold, hard truth is the Lionesses were the better side. Stronger on the ball and in the tackle, they had a plan and executed it to perfection. Sarina Wiegman picked apart Tony Gustavsson’s blueprint - and while Kerr helped spark something resembling an answer, her teammates had nothing left to give.Making her first start of the tournament, Kerr did conjure the ‘Cathy Freeman moment’ she so desperately wanted, in a sense - there was just no gold medal at the end of it.
These players have overcome what feels like a lifetime’s worth of trials and tribulations in the space of a few short weeks. In so doing, the country fell hopelessly in love with them. They have not won a trophy, but they have won what feels like a permanent place in everyone’s heart, and an unimpeachable new status within broader Australian culture - and as far as consolations go, that’s pretty damn good.By starting Kerr, Gustavsson decided to play his best card from the beginning.
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