Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson explains why they hid Sam Kerr’s injury amid backlash
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has pleaded with the public to trust him despite hiding the fact that Sam Kerr would miss the opening two World Cup games.
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Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has pleaded for understanding from fans and media after admitting he knew at Wednesday’s press conference that captain Sam Kerr would not play against Ireland, and kept it secret to disadvantage their opponents.
Kerr was a shock withdrawal with a calf injury she suffered during the warm-up of their final training session on Wednesday morning in Brisbane.
The star striker and Gustavsson sat in front of the press in Sydney at 6.20pm Wednesday evening, knowing full well she would not be taking the field, but spoke as though all was fine.
After securing a thrilling 1-0 victory over Ireland on Thursday in front of a record 75,784 fans at Accor Stadium, Gustavsson said he hoped the public would retain their trust in him.
“I want to ask from understanding on that considering it’s a World Cup, and I want to respect you guys and want that trust and to be honest about things, but at that time – we knew she wouldn’t play – but we didn’t know what it was and we were looking for answers,” Gustavsson said.
“I hope you respect and understand that when I sat here yesterday I couldn’t speak openly about it.
“At that point in time we didn’t know 100 per cent what it was, we were waiting for results of the scans.
“Sam is a massive part of Ireland’s game plan as you can understand, and we didn’t want to give that away in advance, but once we got to the stadium we didn’t play any type of mind games, we were honest in the team sheet, she wasn’t in the starting line-up, and we announced the news she is injured and can’t play.
“We waited for the last second to come to the stadium to not give away too much.
“Again, I ask for some understanding, I hope that’s OK.”
Ireland coach Vera Pauw conceded she was shocked to learn Kerr was missing from Australia’s team sheet, handed out 90 minutes before kick-off.
Kerr will miss the next match against Nigeria at Suncorp Stadium on July 27, but with Australia facing Olympic champions Canada just four days later she is a real chance to miss out entirely on the pool stage.
If Australia qualify for the round of 16, they’ll most likely face Denmark or England, two tough teams that Kerr would play a major role against of fit.
The Matildas did remarkably well to keep Kerr’s injury a secret until so late in the piece.
Gustavsson said Kerr will be reassessed next week.
“We’ve been honest to say she’ll be out for two games, and then we will reassess afterwards, that tells you a little bit about what grade it is,” he said.
In Kerr’s place, Steph Catley stepped up to kick the winning penalty – her first for Australia – and claim player-of-the-match honours.
“I’m a confident penalty taker, if Sam doesn’t want to take it in a game for whatever reason I’m happy to take it,” Catley said, adding Kerr would be a huge part of the team even from the sidelines.
“She is the spiritual leader of the team,” Catley said.
“We used her spirit, and the fact she wasn’t able to be out there with us to help us push on.
“That’s what it’s going to take for as long as she misses, but she’s got a role to play, she’s massive, she’s so important, she’s our spiritual leader and whatever role she plays in the next, however long, will be massive.”
Catley revealed Kerr was “involved non-stop, from the first chat in the changeroom to the last chat” to inspire her teammates.
Gustavsson conceded he had pondered the worst-case scenario in planning for this campaign.
“As a coach you always look at different scenarios, ‘What if a centreback goes down, or what if an outside back goes down, or what if we played with Sam?’” he said.
“We had a couple of opportunities to play without her in these two years [of] preparation, it was important for the team to feel those 30 minutes against France (in the warm-up match) when both Sam and Caitlin [Foord] both stepped off and we managed to win 1-0, and we had 17 players on the park.
“There is a belief in the team.
“But you don’t go there too often with those thoughts as a coach.”
‘No distraction’: Kerr speaks on stunning withdrawal
– Tilly Werner, Martin Gabor and Erin Smith
The Matildas have suffered a monumental blow with superstar striker Sam Kerr ruled out of tonight’s World Cup opener against the Republic of Ireland.
The Aussie sensation will also miss next week’s game against Nigeria after she picked up a calf injury at training, with the Matildas confirming the news on social media less than 90 minutes before they get their World Cup campaign underway.
Kerr took to social media to express her disappointment at the change.
“I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from us doing what we came here to achieve. Of course I would have loved to be there tonight but I can’t wait to be a part of this amazing journey, which starts now.”
Mary Fowler, who scored for the Matildas in their 1-0 win over France last Friday was named as her replacement.
Football Australia staff will be monitoring the star as she is rehabilitated ahead of the all-important final group match with Canada.
Speaking on Channel 7, Elise Kellond-Knight said the Matildas will persist without their skipper.
“My heart really breaks for Sammy. I know she wants to be out there, I know she wants to be a part of these two games.”
“Luckily there’s another 22 players on this team. The team isn’t just Sam Kerr. We saw that on Friday night, so I think we can all be really confident that we can go into this game with plenty more opportunities where we’re going to create really good attacks.”
“I think for the average fan out there, they’ll be shocked. I mean, a lot of people only know Sam Kerr for the Matildas, but I can guarantee you there are a lot of superstars in this team and I don’t think we need to be worried or concerned at all going into this game. We’ve got so much depth.
“If anything, it’s kind of great that we can rest Sam and afford to put her on the sidelines and then look at our other players and create our attacks through those players.”
Injured Matildas’ player and Optus Sports commentator Chloe Logarzo said it was a massive change but one the Matildas could handle.
“I think Mary (Fowler) coming in and taking a direct swap for Sam is definitely a big change but the principles and processes are staying the same. Players might change but we just adapt and we move on,” she said.
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Originally published as Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson explains why they hid Sam Kerr’s injury amid backlash
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