Sam Kerr's devastating admission after Matildas wonder goal and brutal late misses

Aussie superstar Sam Kerr has made the tough admission she felt short of match fitness as she cut a dejected figure following the Matildas' brutal 3-1 loss to England on Wednesday night. The Matildas were carrying the hopes of a nation in the Women's World Cup semi-final, but were outplayed by a classy English outfit.

The European champions started on the front foot and their heavy challenges on Kerr caught the ire of the Australian crowd. The Matildas soon went behind after Ella Toone silenced the crowd in the 36th minute.

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Australia was struggling to get a foothold into the game, before Kerr delivered a moment of magic from outside the box as she launched a long-range strike into the top corner. Kerr hadn't started a single match at the World Cup before the semi-final due to injury, but she was saving her best for when it mattered.

Kerr was ecstatic after the goal, grabbing the Australian badge before making a superwoman gesture in celebration. Kerr's second-half strike was the longest goal of the World Cup and the longest since the 2019 World Cup group stages.

Unfortunately, Kerr's heroics were not enough as England's Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo scored to help seal the victory for the Lionesses. England will look to win their first ever World Cup tournament.

Kerr had one opportunity to level the scores in the second-half when the ball fell to her feet from a corner. In most circumstances Kerr would routinely slot the ball home, but unlike her pervious moment of magic, the 29-year-old put the chance agonisingly wide.

After the match, cameras panned to Australia's wonder woman as Kerr cut a forlorn figure on the turf. Kerr spoke to the media after the game and made the painful admission that her lack of match fitness throughout the World Cup could have played a factor in her last-gap opportunity.

“I think I did everything I can to be back in this tournament,” a devastated Kerr told Channel 7 after the loss. “If I trained more than five times this World Cup maybe I would’ve sunk that.

“But I can’t put all the blame on myself, I have to think of all the things the team’s done and I’ve done to be where we are now and inspire the nation. We’re all just really proud of each other and just wish we could’ve got over the line.

“But no matter what happens I wouldn’t want to be on any other team. This is my team, my mates, my best mates, I love them all to death.”

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The Matildas run to a maiden semi-final birth has gripped Australia with TV records tumbling throughout the dream journey. Australia will now face Sweden in the third place playoff on Saturday, ahead of the final between Spain and England the following day.

And while the players will feel devastated they weren't able to deliver a trophy at the World Cup, Kerr wanted to look at the impact the Matildas have achieved as a team on the next generation of players. "I think that's kind of the only thing that's keeping me smiling right now, is the way that we've inspired the nation, everyone's got behind us," she said.

"The tournament's been amazing, every single team, player, person that's visited has said how beautiful our country is. So I think for us, it's been hopefully life-changing for women's football in Australia."

Teammate Katrina Gorry made her 100th appearance for the nation in the semi-final clash and was just as devastated at the loss. “I guess that’s football. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. It’s just a crappy time to lose, I guess," she said.

“I thought that we still created lots of chances and kept possession well in patches and we put a lot of pressure on them. We couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net and they did.”

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