Is Sam Kerr playing against Denmark in Women's World Cup round of 16?
Australia's superstar captain is yet to play a second of the World Cup after suffering the worrying injury before the tournament.
The availability of Matildas captain Sam Kerr and the state of her calf injury continue to dominate the headlines ahead of Australia's Women's World Cup round of 16 clash against Denmark on Monday night. A full house of more than 80,000 fans are expected to pack Sydney's Accor Stadium, with the majority desperate to see the superstar Matildas striker in action.
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Kerr is yet to feature in a single second of World Cup action after picking up a calf strain before Australia's first game of the tournament - the 1-0 group stage win over Ireland. It was hoped Kerr would return after Australia's shock 3-2 defeat to Nigeria, but her Aussie teammates ultimately gave the 29-year-old Chelsea superstar another week to recover from her injury after thrashing Canada 4-0 in their final group game to book their spot in the knockout stage in style.
Will Sam Kerr play in Australis's round of 16 clash with Denmark?
Excited fans and football reporters have been following Kerr's every move in the build-up to the Denmark clash, with the Matildas captain declaring on the weekend that she "will play". Kerr had been spotted on the exercise bike and training aside from her Aussie teammates over the course of last week, but on Saturday uploaded images to social media showing her ramping up her preparations for the knockout game.
"I'm really excited," Kerr told Channel Nine when briefly stopped for a comment at Sydney airport on Saturday. "I will play, yep."
Again, how many minutes Kerr is able to play and whether she starts on the field or off the bench, is something the Aussies will decide closer to kick-off. Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has been reluctant to give away too much about Kerr throughout the tournament and will again keep football fans guessing for the Denmark game.
"She's also a player we'll talk about tonight to see how many minutes would be best suitable and looking at the 90 minutes, potential for extra-time, how to get the best out of Sam Kerr in the game plan", Gustavsson said. Kerr was limited to a stationary bike during the 15-minute window of training open to media on Sunday and Australia's coach says he has complete trust in the Matildas' medical team about how best to manage his star player.
Such is the level of interest in Kerr and the Matildas, a helicopter was spotted flying over their Sunday training session in Sydney. Gustavsson said he hoped it wouldn't lead to any tactics being leaked to Australia's opponents.
The Matildas will go into Monday night's crunch clash buoyed by the incredible 4-0 win against heavyweights, Canada. Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Emily van Egmond and Hayley Raso were particularly dominant for the Aussies and the win showed how dangerous the team can be even without Kerr.
What sort of threat will Denmark pose?
The group stage is one thing but it's the knockout phase when the odds and intensity ramp up a notch, and in World No.13 Denmark the Aussies face another stern test. The Danes finished second in their group behind a flawless England side yet to drop a point and considered by many to be favourites for the trophy now the USA are out.
The Aussies know the key to winning will largely revolve around stopping Danish superstar, Pernille Harder - a former teammate of Kerr's at Chelsea and one of the best players in women's football. Limiting the influence of Denmark's captain will be crucial to Australia's hopes of securing a quarter-final date with either France or Morocco.
"Sammy (Kerr) said she's someone who can change the game for their team," Matildas defender Alanna Kennedy said about Harder, who moved to German giants Bayern Munich in the off-season. "It's just being alert at all times against her and just showing up in the same way that we did against Canada as a team.
"Pernille's someone who we have to make sure that we limit her chances and her time on the ball... Sam obviously knows a lot about her and has shared that with the team as well. If we have that same mentality that we had in the Canada game, it doesn't matter whether you're coming up against Pernille or a Sam Kerr on another team."
with AAP
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