Even when the sun went down over balmy Brisbane the heat did not dissipate for a second as Australia and France fought for their spot in the semi-finals over more than three hours. Regulation time ended goalless, as did 30 minutes of extra-time, and a breathtaking penalty shootout was required to separate these two sides.
In her first Women’s World Cup, substitute Cortnee Vine stepped up as the host nation’s 10th penalty-taker, and became Australia’s hero as she sent the Matildas through to the semi-finals for the first time in the team’s history.
Three shootout saves from goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, despite smacking her own kick into the upright, set the tone for the denouement to a rollercoaster evening in Brisbane and earned her player of the match status.
The heart-stopping, historic victory came after a hard-fought game, with France quickly showcasing their sharp attacking prowess and sending shivers through the almost completely green and gold crowd. The hits came fast down the left flank as Sakina Karchaoui and Selma Bacha supplied Kadidiatou Diani and Eugenie Le Sommer in the centre.
The pace with which France stormed towards Australia’s defence in the opening minutes sent a nervous hush over the nearly 50,000-strong crowd. And there were signs of nervousness on the pitch too, which Diani took advantage of in the seventh minute when Matildas centre-back Alanna Kennedy’s attempted clearance went straight up in the air. As Diani pounced on the dropping ball Kennedy was already on the back foot and could do nothing but snatch at her shirt – for which she somehow avoided a booking. Diani’s shot across the face of goal went out past the far post but the defence looked rattled. It was an early hand-in-mouth moment that would be repeated for both sides throughout the increasingly tense and chaotic do-or-die game.
For much of the first half the green and gold crowd hummed along with occasional outbursts for long balls forward, footage of Sam Kerr on the bench, and any touch from Mary Fowler, who donned her black gloves despite the afternoon temperature reaching more than 20C.
As the light faded, the noise level in the stadium ratcheted up several notches, and so too did the energy on the pitch. It was Fowler who just before the end of the half was provided the clearest chance on an open goal, only for it to be deflected by Elisa De Almeida’s thigh.
It took just 10 minutes of the second half for Tony Gustavsson to play his Kerr card. The striker took to the pitch in place of Emily van Egmond to the loudest ovation of the night to that point.
Kerr’s first action was to catch her boot in the turf and stumble, but it was followed quickly by a blistering run with the ball to the edge of the area before a cut back to Hayley Raso who’s belter forced a flying save from Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. The energy had shifted in an instant, but still chances were not converted.
Still goalless with only 10 minutes left of regulation time, frustrations seemed to reach boiling point on the pitch and sideline. Tackles late, shirts tugged at, coaches fume from behind their white-dashed line.
With nearly 50,000 people on the edge of their seats, things took a strange turn in the first half of extra-time when French substitute Vicki Becho appeared to take the ball well over the baseline only for it to go unnoticed, much to the displeasure of the crowd behind the goal.
In a flash of gold shirts, the subsequent corner resulted in the ball finding the back of the net off Kennedy’s head, only for the referee to rule she was dragged down by Renard. The look on Kennedy’s face told the story of just how close Australia came to packing up their camp at that point.
Australia will now face either England or Columbia in the semi-final next week in Sydney.
More to follow.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMinwFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20vZm9vdGJhbGwvMjAyMy9hdWcvMTIvd29tZW5zLXdvcmxkLWN1cC0yMDIzLW1hdGlsZGFzLWF1c3RyYWxpYS12cy1mcmFuY2UtbWF0Y2gtcmVwb3J0LXJldmlldy1zY29yZXMtcmVzdWx0cy1zdW5jb3JwLXN0YWRpdW0tYnJpc2JhbmXSAZ8BaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2Zvb3RiYWxsLzIwMjMvYXVnLzEyL3dvbWVucy13b3JsZC1jdXAtMjAyMy1tYXRpbGRhcy1hdXN0cmFsaWEtdnMtZnJhbmNlLW1hdGNoLXJlcG9ydC1yZXZpZXctc2NvcmVzLXJlc3VsdHMtc3VuY29ycC1zdGFkaXVtLWJyaXNiYW5l?oc=5
2023-08-12 10:18:00Z
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