According to coach Tony Gustavsson, injured captain Sam Kerr gave the order to win the game without her in order to buy time for her calf strain to heal, which led to Australia’s 4-0 thrashing of Canada at the Women’s World Cup.
On Monday, Australia advanced to the round of 16 with Kerr watching from the sidelines as Hayley Raso scored twice to put her team ahead before Mary Fowler scored and Steph Catley converted a penalty to seal the victory at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
When Kerr opted not to participate in the Matildas’ pre-game warmup, there were questions about his physical condition.
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But there was no need to take a chance by playing her because her colleagues stepped up to defeat the Olympic winners in her place.
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“Part of the reason why I also think that it was so united and (we) performed the way we did is (because) one of the words Sam said to the team,” Gustavsson told reporters.
“It is: ‘Make sure you win without me so that I can get another week to train and recover and get healthy’.
“And the team said ‘Yes, we will. You sit on the bench tonight.’
“You could almost see that commitment from the players (saying) ‘Let’s do it, you know, so that Sam gets another week of training’.”
Kerr, who missed the 3-2 loss to Nigeria and the 1-0 victory over Ireland, has been given the all-clear to play at least a portion of the Canada game, according to Gustavsson.
He claimed, nonetheless, that he sensed he wouldn’t require her.
“It felt like before the game the players were so convinced they could do it without her,” he added. “We kind of just said ‘Let’s just focus on that first’.”
In Kerr’s absence, Catley capably captained the team, assisting Raso’s opening goal and converting the subsequent penalty kick when Katrina Gorry was fouled in stoppage time.
The victory made Australia the group B leader and relieved pressure on Gustavsson after Nigeria’s 3-2 upset, which drew criticism from the domestic media for his tactics and substitutions.
In a week, Australia will play their Round of 16 match in Sydney, most likely against Denmark.
The Swede claimed that Canada’s victory wasn’t meant to disprove critics but rather to honour supporters for their devotion.
“I think it represents so much more – what the Matildas stand for and what they want to do in terms of inspiring people,” he added.
“It feels good to celebrate with all of you with a night like this but I’m going to be boring and say, ‘Let’s just do it tonight’ because tomorrow we start the prep again.”