Matildas v Denmark: Australia’s historic World Cup charge is being driven by more than just the players and coaches
Three well-worn pieces of carpet on the Matildas’ dressing room floor explains what this team truly represents, writes ADAM PEACOCK.
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The Matildas’ dressing room is a scene of perfection pre-game at this World Cup. Kits are neatly laid out, food and drink readily available, treatment tables with an endless supply of tape waiting to wrap around ankles and, gulp, calves, the lighting just the right shade.
But these aren’t the most poignant parts.
No, the section of the Matildas’ sanctuary that stands out most is the floor. There, three pieces of well-worn carpet, two metres by one metre, have travelled up and down the country this World Cup.
Each carries a separate message.
“Never Say Die.”
“Belief.”
“Family.”
The same three messages also hang high on the walls, so when players look down to put their boots on or around the room generally, the central themes that drive them on are there for conscious and subconscious consumption.
The family element is particularly significant for a team consisting of players, coaches and staff scattered across the world. To observe them first hand is to observe a group happy in each other’s company, which they need to be when bouncing from hotel to hotel, plane to plane, locked in a bubble, only slightly aware of what’s going on outside.
A touching moment on the eve of the tournament, just before the opener against Ireland on July 20, reflected the important role family has played in the evolution of the Matildas, who now stand just three wins away from the greatest prize in sport.
The squad gathered in a meeting room of its Brisbane hotel.
A surprise awaited them.
Family members of every single player had been flown in from around the country without the players’ knowledge to present their World Cup jerseys. According to those in the room at the time, there was barely a dry eye throughout the emotional ceremony.
One by one, the family behind the players - those who drove them to countless pre-dawn training sessions, ferried them home well after dark, fed them, bought them boots and, in many cases, went without to support fledgling football careers - stood and handed over the jerseys.
It was a moment none will forget and all will cherish. It showed the Matildas’ squad is, in fact, much larger than just the players listed on team sheets and that the presentation of the World Cup jersey was as much for those family members as it was the young woman receiving it.
For fostering this family bond, Tony Gustavsson deserves credit. Gustavsson didn’t create the Matildas’ sense of togetherness - that can be traced back decades to the trailblazers of the 1970s through to this current group, many of whom first met when barely out of primary school 15 years ago - but he has taken a lead role in nurturing and preserving it.
Gustavsson has had his methods and decisions questioned since taking over the Australian national team and, in particular, at this tournament where his tactics, use of bench players and, of course, the state secret of Sam Kerr’s calf have all been under the microscope.
Much less has been said about the special, family-oriented environment he has been instrumental in developing. And yet it might be the most significant of all his contributions as Australia, for so long a footballing outpost, strives to make history over the next fortnight against incalculable odds.
Gustavsson couldn’t stop smiling after the Denmark game which secured Australia’s passage to the World Cup quarter finals. He hugged all the staff, some of whom were in tears at the enormity of it all.
A huge boom box is a central feature of the dressing room, one that would be heard by an entire suburb if turned up loud enough, with the team’s favourite tracks blasting out on repeat. “Strawberry Kisses” by Nikki Webster has been a favourite all tournament. It was hard to hear precisely what was playing on Monday night over the commotion in the rooms after the Denmark win, but one thing was clear.
The players sang together, just as they had played together.
*****
If further evidence was needed of the unity among this group of Matildas, the Kerr situation is it. The players’ care for Sam, and Kerr’s care for the team, have been clear since her pre-tournament injury scare, throughout her recovery and right up to her first appearance on the pitch at this World Cup on Monday night.
Kerr was sent out just after halftime to warm up. It was a long warm up. A celebrated warm up. Fans behind the northern goal at a packed Stadium Australia were transfixed on the magical striker in pink boots as much as the unfolding drama of the second half.
Kerr, though, was as much a fan as a player - a global superstar, no less - in those moments. She stopped, gasped, with every Australian half chance. On 70 minutes, Caitlin Foord toyed with Danish defenders, Mary Fowler made time stand still and Hayley Raso shot and scored. The whole joint erupted, none with more gusto than Kerr and the other bench players, all jumping into each others’ arms in a moment of pure joy.
And then, in the 80th minute, it happened.
Kerr was called back from the warm up and, before the shin pads went on and the bib came off, she went along the lines of teammates on the bench, double high fives to each. They were as excited as the 75,000-plus in the stands to experience the limping, then walking, now running headline-maker entering this World Cup for the first time.
The moment wasn’t about one individual, or even the team.
It was about family.
It’s hard to know for certain how other teams would have reacted to losing the equivalent of Kerr, their best player and captain, on the cusp of a once-in-a-lifetime home World Cup.
Without Kerr, the Matildas wobbled through their first two games. Her role was reduced to hype leader during the warm up, next to the goals as those fit and able went through last minute shooting drills. Only once did personal heartache take over, during the national anthem for the Ireland game when she burst into tears.
Yet, together, the Matildas survived the challenges of the first two games to emerge from their group with a resounding 4-0 win over Olympic champions Canada. And now with Kerr back playing, they are in thrive mode.
If a rival is to break this dream run - be it France or Morocco in the quarter-final, or someone beyond - they will need an iron will themselves.
Because entering the biggest fortnight of their lives, this Matildas family is stronger than ever.
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