Football: Matildas have dream run to World Cup final

World No.1 America is in ordinary form. World No.2 Germany has been eliminated. Powerhouses Brazil, Italy and Argentina are on their way home. The World Cup draw has opened up for the Matildas.

Katrina Gorry, left, leads her teammate through their paces during a Matildas training session at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Brisbane on Friday. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“So please, be tolerant of those who describe a sporting moment as their best ever,” wrote Nick Hornby in Fever Pitch.

“We do not lack imagination, nor have we had sad and barren lives; it is just that real life is paler, duller, and contains less potential for unexpected delirium.”

The Matildas are living a somewhat pale, dull and delirium-free existence at their Brisbane base. Such is life for any sporting team at any World Cup. You go to the hotel brekkie bar, you have a cuppa, you try not to eat too many servings of bacon and eggs, you make sure you’re on time for the bus, you go to training, you go back to the hotel, you shower, you get some physio, you watch a bit of Netflix, you have another cuppa, you hang out with friends and family or teammates if you want to, or you lock yourself in your room and let the real world spin without you for a while.

You go to team meetings and stay in the coach’s good books and think about the next game. Then you start thinking about the perils of thinking too much, which takes a lot of thinking. Then you go back to another training session, and you put your head down again, and you put your bum up again, as the Matildas did in their sprint ­sessions on Friday, held back by resistance bands that seemed to represent the strain and struggle of getting to game day.

For those who do not lack ­imagination, the Matildas’ path to the World Cup final is opening like a joy ride down Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. The prospect of Sam Kerr’s Australians reaching the showdown for the crown has ­become very real – even if Kerr’s ­involvement remains uncertain. Former Socceroo and Optus Sports commentator Mark Schwarzer suspects top-secret Matildas training sessions are hiding the fact Kerr is no chance of playing against Denmark on Monday night.

Sam Kerr on an exercise bike during a Matildas training session on Friday in Brisbane. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“With Sam, look, it’s as good as anyone’s guess,” he says. “At the moment they’re being very, very tight-lipped and more often than not, not necessarily being completely upfront with us about Sam’s availability. So I’m still suspicious as to whether or not Sam is even fit to play this next game.”

Regardless, the Matildas are favourites against Denmark. Then they’ll likely face France. A blockbuster semi-final against ­England looks likely for Sydney on August 16. The Lionesses have lost three valuable players to ­injury – limited resistance on the run to the championship match. Which won’t be sad, barren, pale or dull. Please, be tolerant when we suggest this. For delirium, it could be the best ever.