‘History in the making’: Wild scenes as Matildas win World Cup opener

Stadium Australia has erupted after Matildas captain Steph Catley stepped up to deliver a moment of magic in the World Cup.

7 min read

July 20, 2023 - 11:04PM

Steph Catley (C) of Australia celebrates with teammates after scoring her team's first goal. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

The Matildas have made a perfect start to their World Cup campaign on a famous night for Australian football at Sydney Olympic Park.

The Aussies produced a moment to remember when Steph Catley slotted a thundering second half penalty to give Australia a 1-0 win over Ireland in front of a rocking, record of crowd of 75,784 – the biggest ever crowd for a women’s football game in Australia.

The wild scenes have left some footy commentators stunned.

Matildas great Haeather Garriock was blown away by the spectacle.

“Just a memorable moment, an iconic occasion,” she said on Channel 7.

“History in the making. Not only for sport generally, but for women’s football. We have come so far.”

There was drama throughout the gritty contest – and it began more than an hour before kick-off when bombshell news dropped that Sam Kerr had been ruled out with a calf injury.

The Matildas released a statement on Thursday night to announce Kerr suffered a calf injury during Wednesday’s final training session.

The team’s announcement came after New Zealand won their first match against Norway.

The Matildas missed her aerial skills but found other ways to trouble the Irish defence.

It took a moment of cunning from Hayley Raso to break the deadlock when she jostled into a position to earn a penalty.

Raso was brought down in the penalty area while making a run near the top of the box.

The decision was reviewed by VAR, but the footage showed there was clear contact with Raso’s back as she went to ground.

Catley then stepped up to slot the penalty with a booming kick that went straight into the top left corner.

Marissa Sheva, the Irish defender that committed the crucial foul on Raso, was seen looking distraught when spotted sitting on the bench.

Stephanie Catley slots the historic goal on home soil. Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP.

The Matildas went bananas. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

It was a very different emotion being felt by the Aussie camp.

While Aussie players were beaming and cheering as the final whistle went, Catley’s clearest emotion was relief when speaking to Channel 7’s Adam Peacock after the game.

“I think it’s been a long build up to this game and there has obviously been a lot of anticipation, a lot of anxiety. That’s natural,” she said.

“I think you could see that in moments. We were nervy and probably didn’t play as calmly as we normally do and Ireland were fantastic. They put us under pressure.

“There were nervy moments we will look to clean up further in the tournament.”

The pressure valve was eased after Catley’s 52nd minute penalty and Australia dominated the next period of play.

However, the contest took a dramatic turn in the final 15 minutes with Ireland pressing the attack and creating a flurry of chances that didn’t find the mark.

It took a tough save from goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold deep into added time to make sure Australia walked away with all three points.

The Matildas’ next play Nigeria in Brisbane on Thursday.

9pm — All tied up at half time

Australia struggled to create chances during a tense opening 45 minutes with the scores still locked 0-0 heading into the second half.

Hayley Raso had the best opportunity of the half when she climbed high for a header at the far post after a deep corner by Steph Catley but was only able to head the ball wide.

Ireland held their own in the physical opening exchanges and looked solid at the back.

8.30pm — Sam Kerr in tears before kick-off

Sam Kerr was a figure of devastation as she watched her teammates walk out of the tunnel and onto the Stadium Australia pitch in front of 75,000 fans on Thursday night.

The superstar was still there to cheer her team on despite her personal anguish at being injured for the blockbuster contest.

Kerr took her seat on the Australian bench alongside other members of the extended Australian squad.

There were loud cheers from inside the stadium when Kerr was shown on the big screen early in the first half despite being unable to give the camera a smile.

Sam Kerr and Katrina Gorry on the field before kick-off. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

Sam Kerr was spotted in tears. Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP.

6.45pm — Sam Kerr out in World Cup bombshell

The Matildas have been rocked by the news Sam Kerr will miss the first two games of Australia’s campaign.

The Matildas announced just over an hour before kick-off against Ireland that the Chelsea star suffered a calf injury this week,

The team says Kerr will be assessed before Australia’s third group stage game, but is certain to miss the second game against Nigeria.

The team posted on Twitter: “Sam will be unavailable for the next two matches with the Matildas Medical Team to reassess her following our second group stage match”.

Kerr confirmed the injury was suffered during the team’s final training session.

Australian sport commentators were stunned by the news.

Matildas star Elise Kellond-Knight told Channel 7: “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.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Scott Bailey called it a “Kerr-tastrophe”.

Sam Kerr of the Matildas leads her team out. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images.

Code Sport’s Lachlan McKirdy posted on Twitter: “Oh no”.

Sport commentator Jordan Patu wrote on Twitter: “This is a national tragedy.”

There were rumours leaking out about Kerr’s fitness in the hours leading up to the team announcement, and the bad news was ultimately confirmed.

It is a hammer blow for Australia’s hopes of topping the pool with Kerr now having just 11 days to recover before the final pool stage game against Canada on July 31.

Mary Fowler is starting up top in Kerr’s place.

6pm — Albo’s big promise to Matildas

The Matildas have been the most popular group in Australia this month with Cathy Freeman, Rhea Ripley and a stream of big-name celebrities sending public messages of support in the days leading up to the tournament opener.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined the list of wellwishers on Thursday and suggested he may push for a public holiday to be declared if Sam Kerr’s team can go all the way and win the tournament.

“The states are in charge of public holidays … but I tell you what, it will be a time where we should celebrate as a nation if we win the World Cup,” he told the ABC.

“That’ll certainly be my view, so I’ll put that very strongly.”

Albanese wished them good luck and said he will be watching the match.

5pm — World divided on opening ceremony

There were spectacular scenes in Auckland as the tournament was opened in a colourful welcoming ceremony at Eden Park before New Zealand’s clash with Norway.

However, not everyone was impressed with the performances.

The pre-match entertainment before the tournament opener included live a performance from Aussie act Mallrat and Kiwi alt-pop singer BENEE as they performed the official song for the event, “Do It Again”.

BENEE and Mallrat perform on stage. Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Image.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra and members of the All Blacks were also involved.

The colourful scenes received a mixed reaction from fans watching around the world.

BENEE’s performance didn’t impress everyone, while some of the cultural displays wowed Kiwi viewers.

The New Zealand Herald’s Bonnie Johnson wrote on Twitter: “So proud of NZ today! So proud to be a Kiwi”.

New Zealand sports journalist Ed Jackson posted: “Well that was okay… I mean who needs opening ceremonies really anyway for a football tournament? Not sure about Benee and friend’s bad lip-synching though.”

4pm — Sam Kerr embracing the pressure

Captain Sam Kerr on Wednesday said Australia were treating their opening game at the World Cup against Ireland like a final, vowing not to be overawed by playing in front of 80,000 fans in Sydney.

The co-hosts have been consistent performers on the international stage, qualifying for the Women’s World Cup repeatedly since 1995.

But they have never progressed past the quarter-finals and the pressure is on, having been billed as among the favourites.

The in-form Matildas start their World Cup title charge on Thursday and star Chelsea striker Kerr said: “We are really confident, but for us it’s just about the first game.

“Right now we are playing that game with no other game in mind, so that’s our final at this point.” Australia will be playing against the Irish in front of a sell-out, partisan crowd at Stadium Australia.