Sam Kerr was full of anger and self-doubt the day before scoring four goals against Jamaica

Twenty-four hours before her historic quadruple against Jamaica, Sam Kerr was in a world of trouble. Plagued by anxiety and rage - it turned out the joke was on her.

• Women take back seat even when they are lead act
• Why Kerr is a great fit

The day before Sam Kerr scored four against Jamaica she was irate on the training pitch, wondering to where her flow had disappeared.

The joke was on her apparently.

Twenty-four hours later Kerr had her quadruple, and Ante Milicic had his punchline.

The Matildas coach, who had been privy to his striker’s earlier self-flagellation, got in first to sign her match ball.

“I’ve lost my rhythm? Proud of you skipper,” Milicic wrote.

Kerr didn’t notice it until a little while after the full-time whistle was blown in Grenoble.

Because, amid all the fuss and exhilaration of smashing records and keeping her country in World Cup reckoning, the leading lady forgot all about football’s unwritten rule that the hat-trick hero gets to keep the match ball.

Women’s World Cup: Sam Kerr makes headlines around the world after her four goals against Jamaica

Sam Kerr of Australia celebrates after scoring the opening goal

When she did finally claim it, she took a took a quiet moment to soak it all in.

Then she saw her coach’s personalised message.

“Ante wrote on the ball,” Kerr said.

“The day before training I was getting angry and upset that I’d lost all my rhythm and wasn’t playing and training very well.

“He was just laughing at me the day before, so it was a joke that came back to bite me on the butt, because I was saying I didn't have any rhythm and then I scored four goals.

“He had a little joke on it and the rest of the girls signed it. That will go in the trophy cabinet as my first-ever hat-trick at a World Cup.

“This will be something I remember for the rest of my life.”

The 25-year-old won’t be forgetting Tim Cahill’s reaction in a hurry either.

Cahill tweeted an animation of himself and Kerr punching the corner flag, in reference to Kerr’s tribute celebration to the Socceroos legend after scoring her first World Cup goal against Italy.

“I grew up watching Timmy ... he’s probably one of my favourite players in the whole world ... I guess he’s like an idol but he’s also a friend,” Kerr said.

“You kind of have to pinch yourself that one of your idols growing up and someone you looked up to is commenting on your stuff and you’re in photos with them.”

Australia's Sam Kerr celebrates after scoring her side's fourth goal

NORWAY READY

The Matildas are bracing for whatever Norway throw their way, in the knowledge anything short of marked improvement will send them packing on Sunday morning.

Australia’s World Cup campaign will go on the line in their first knockout match in France.

And while they enter the round of 16 with the second-highest number of goals scored only to prolific world No.1 defending champions the United States, defence remains a liability.

Come undone against an organised 12th-ranked Norway and an inquest will begin in earnest as to why sixth-ranked Australia have undershot expectations, with the January sacking of former coach Alen Stajcic almost certain to become a focal point.

Beat the ‘Grasshoppers’ and progress to the quarter-finals and the Matildas will equal their deepest run of 2015 when, in an expanded tournament, they became the first senior Australian side of either gender to win a knockout World Cup match.

As much as tactics is a focus this week in Nice, many of the players’ main priority is recuperating over a short four-day turnaround - one day less than their Norwegian counterparts who sealed second in Group A 24 hours prior.

Australia's Sam Kerr, 2nd left, celebrates with teammates after scoring her sides first goal

With that in mind, several key personnel who’ve had heavy workloads sat out the main training session on Thursday, including Sam Kerr, Emily van Egmond, Ellie Carpenter, Chloe Logarzo, Steph Catley and Alanna Kennedy.

Team officials said their absence was nothing more than load management, with expectations they would return to the pitch for Friday’s session.

Tameka Yallop, who sat out Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Jamaica with calf soreness, is due to attend the Matildas’ pre-match press conference, suggesting the Norway-based midfielder may make her comeback.

Defender Clare Polkinghorne was also edging closer to availability.

While some stars recover, the rest are plotting a plan to unpick Norway and have also been practising penalties consistently since pre-tournament camp in Turkey,

Logarzo said there’d been a focus on controlling the tempo, an element she felt her side had struggled with.

“The tempo that we brought to the game against Brazil was up here and how we played against Jamaica was down here,” Logarzosaid.

“When we have more time and space on the ball, we end up slowing down the tempo which shouldn’t happen.

“(We need to) mix the two games together and meet at a happy medium.”