Matildas to embrace, rather than fear, the pressure as their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign starts

The Matildas believe they can win the World Cup, but their first task is to beat Ireland in an early ‘final’.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson and captain and Sam Kerr are excited about Australia’s game against Ireland. Picture: FRANCK FIFE / AFP

The Matildas will treat their FIFA Women’s World Cup opener against Ireland as a “final” as they embrace the pressure and atmosphere of a full house at Stadium Australia.

The time has finally arrived for the Matildas to kick-off their Cup campaign, and there is genuine belief in the camp that they can be crowned world champions on August 20.

However, star skipper Sam Kerr said the Australians would adopt a game-by-game mindset rather than run the risk of thinking too far ahead.

“Everyone’s here to win (the tournament) so I’ll keep my cards close to my chest, but we’re really confident, but for us, it’s just about the first game,” Kerr said on Wednesday night.

“Ireland’s the most important, and right now we’re playing that game with no other game in mind, so that’s our final at this point.

“You’re only as good as your last result, so we’re not one to get too ahead of ourselves.

“We know that the World Cup is different and you have to rock up on the day so we’ll be ready and that’s what we’ve been preparing for the last year.

“It’s not about how we performed in the last few games.”

Sam Kerr says the Matildas are preparing for an early ‘final’ against Ireland. Picture: FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Those “last few games” have included a 2-0 win over European champions England, as well as last Friday night’s 1-0 victory over France in front of more than 50,000 fans at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said that experience would help his team welcome the expectations of a nation rather than fear the pressure of trying to win the World Cup on home soil.

“The dress rehearsal against France with 50,000 in the stands was massive for us for our mental preparation,” Gustavsson said.

“Some players shared their stories of how they felt for the first 10-15 minutes and how they felt when they stepped off the pitch.

“(Defender) Clare Hunt said it took about 15 minutes to get into it mentally and then once she got settled … she felt really good about being really excited about (the game against Ireland) instead of just nervous.”

Chelsea star Kerr said she “loved playing in front of packed stadiums” and urged her teammates to “live in the moment” and enjoy the support of the crowd.

Gustavsson said he had settled on his starting team for Thursday night’s battle, but also emphasised the importance of his “finishing” 11.

He refused to give injury updates, but it’s hard to imagine the versatile Tameka Yallop playing a part in the match, with her thigh heavily strapped at Matildas training on Wednesday following the injury she suffered against France.

Ireland coach Vera Pauw said her side’s star midfielder Denise O’Sullivan would play after recovering from the shin injury she suffered in a trial against Colombia last Friday night that was halted after just 23 minutes due to its rough nature.

Ireland captain Kate McCabe promised her side would not take a backwards step if the Matildas got “physical”.

“We’re Irish, we don’t shy away from physicality,” McCabe said.

“It’s ingrained in us as the hardworking team we are. We’re absolutely prepared for Australia to be physical.

“We’ve looked at games that they’ve played, the game against France, and we know they don’t want to shy away from it either.

“We’ll be prepared to match it.”

Originally published as Matildas to embrace, rather than fear, the pressure as their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign starts