After all of the build-up the time has finally come, Ireland take on Australia in their World Cup opener at 11am Thursday and strive to add to the history they’ve already made in getting to this point.
Captained by Katie McCabe and with Vera Pauw at the helm the Girls In Green have a full deck to choose from for the match at a sold out Stadium Australia, including a recovered Denise O’Sullivan who was somewhat of an injury doubt after their warm up game vs Columbia last week.
Pauw is expected to stick to her traditional 5-4-1 low block strategy and field Courtney Brosnan in net with cover across the centre from Niamh Fahey, Louise Quinn and Megan Connolly, flanked of course by McCabe and Heather Payne. Reusha Littlejohn and O’Sullivan then will pull the strings in midfield, alongside Americans Sinead Farrelly and Marissa Sheva, with Kyra Carusa spearheading the attack up top.
So that’s Ireland, but what can we expect from their opponents Australia?
Vera Pauw has confirmed that Denise O'Sullivan is FIT and will play against Australia in #wwc2023 opener against hosts Australia.
Katie McCabe concurs pic.twitter.com/kuFdAjHtzY— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 19, 2023
Australia’s style
Under manager Tony Gustavsson, the Matildas are currently ranked 10th in the world, with their previous best finish in a world cup seeing them crash out of the tournament in 9th.
After some early losses the Swede, who was involved in the US WNT for a period, has hauled the Australians into serious contenders for their home World Cup, aspiring this summer to be only the second ever host nation to win the competition outright.
'It's no coincidence that they’ve conceded goals late in each half - especially when it comes to tactics and behaviours of one or two players that we’ve identified'
Australia manager Tony Gustavsson expects his bench will be crucial to beating Ireland #wwc2023 pic.twitter.com/8YKCrtgR6j— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 19, 2023
Lately they set up in a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler key cogs in that machine which hones in on pace, physicality and ability from set pieces.
It also appears as if they are looking to target any lapse in Ireland’s concentration, fixating in particular on the closing periods of each half.
Form
Recently Australia have gone from strength to strength on the international stage, with Ireland hoping to buck that trend come kick off.
They’ve overcome big players France, Spain and England this year, smashing the latter’s unbeaten streak under manager Sarina Wiegman.
Favourites for the Group of Death/Group B, they’ll hope their 1-0 showcase versus France last week, as well as the record crowd that attended that game, is a sign of things to come for the remainder of the tournament.
Star players
Without question Australia’s answer to the superstardom Ireland star McCabe warrants is Chelsea idol Sam Kerr.
With 63 international goals the WSL hero is the all time leading goal scorer for her country, across both men’s and women’s football.
Specialising inside the box, the 29 year old captain brings plenty of experience to the table and is in red hot form coming into the tournament, sure to cause some headaches Down Under.
🤸🏽♂️ Sam Kerr has made no decision on whether or not she marks a goal with her trademark acrobatic celebration.
Ireland fans will be hoping it's a moot point anyway! #wwc2023 pic.twitter.com/jjyzNEZ4V1— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 19, 2023
She’ll be helped along by 22 year old and world class right back Ellie Carpenter who plays for Lyon, as well as McCabe’s Arsenal teammate Caitlin Foord and NWSL midfielder Emily van Egmond who is set to make her enjoy her fourth World Cup.
Ones to watch
Plenty of up and comers will be looking to make their name at the illustrious tournament this summer and Australia have a few potential players optimistic to be among them.
Sydney FC’s Cortnee Vine is one of those. A winger who can both assist and score, the 25-year-old is hopeful to compound her club form on the international stage and aid the Matildas World Cup journey.
Cortnee f****** Vine!
Top bins 🔥#AUSvESP #Matildas
pic.twitter.com/5U5QR4QAU9— Sacha Pisani (@Sachk0) February 19, 2023
21-year-old Kyra Cooney-Cross is in a similar boat, although she currently plays for Hammarby in the Swedish league.
The attacking number eight is a threat on the break and pivotal to Australia’s transition play, Ireland will have to keep an eye on the World Cup debutant when they come to blows.
Kyra Cooney-Cross vs England @kyracooneyx pic.twitter.com/yxgkgJ5d97
— َ (@compssv2) April 12, 2023
Irish connections on both sides of the World Cup opener?
Mary Fowler is one of the bright sparks in Australia’s squad, but in another life she could have been donning the green jersey.
In fact, her two brothers did so in the past, playing for Ireland at underage level.
The Manchester City woman’s father was Irish born and her connections to the country still run deep with her grandparents based in Ballymun Co. Dublin.
She even presented her match worn shirt to her grandad Kevin after scoring twice in a friendly match versus Ireland at Tallaght stadium in 2021.
Fowler was on the losing side on the that occasion with Pauw’s team having won out 3-2, but be under no illusions, such a score line is unlikely to correlate to this World Cup opener, which will be a much more tense affair.
That said, Australia are yet to win an opening fixture in any of the World Cups they’ve previously featured in, losing 1-0 to Brazil in 2011, 3-1 to the US in 2015 and falling short against Italy 2-1 in 2019, so it may be Kevin, as opposed to Mary Fowler that could come away happier after the final whistle.
A lovely moment after tonight's women's international friendly between @TheMatildas and @FAIreland as Australia's Mary Fowler is greeted by her grandfather Kevin Fowler, from Ballymun in Dublin. pic.twitter.com/akFn1OlaRZ
— Stephen McCarthy (@sportsfilesteve) September 21, 2021
