Riding to World Cup glory – or on a road to nowhere? Kerr stationary as Matildas roll on

Sam Kerr glared ahead. Looked stern. Scowled at another training session she wasn’t part of. Time’s running out for the Matildas captain – and she looked like she knew it. 

Matildas superstar captain Sam Kerr works out on an exercise bike during Sunday’s training session in Sydney. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The Matildas without Sam Kerr are The Invincibles without Bradman. They’re replacing the irreplaceable. Now the World Cup has entered its most demanding, nerve-racking and cutthroat phase – can they really keep winning without her?

Coach Tony Gustavsson believes so. Perhaps he deserves a line from The Castle’s Darryl Kerrigan – tell him he’s dreamin’ – ahead of the sudden-death round of 16 game against Denmark at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Monday night.

The wounded captain had a different disposition at training on Sunday. Stern. Impatient.

She scowled at another training session she wasn’t part of, riding an exercise bike that was taking her nowhere fast. There’s less than a fortnight until the tournament is over and she’s barely moved a muscle.

Clock’s ticking. Urgency has arrived.

Kerr seems to know it. She peddled fast but stayed where she as. In limbo.

Let’s remember who she is. Leader. Linchpin. Heart. Soul. Striker. Best player. The Matildas without her are an Australian Fed Cup team without Ash Barty; an Olympic 4x100m relay team without Emma McKeon; an Australian women’s cricket team without Meg Lanning. They’re missing something. Because they’re without someone they probably cannot do without in the long run.

Will Kerr play? “We had a nice moment as a team on Saturday to see her back with the boots on and touching the ball and to be with the team in training,” Gustavsson said.

“It was a very good feeling for her and a very good feeling for her teammates and a very good feeling for me. Today she was off-feet. It was an individual plan for her in training.

“We will talk about how many minutes would be suitable for her against Denmark. Looking at 90 minutes and a potential extra time, how do I get the most out of Sam Kerr in a game plan?”

The Matildas captain ended up looking bored on her bike. Like she was humming a John Lennon song to herself: “I’m just sitting here, watching the wheels go round and round ...”

Intrigue about her calf injury was so extreme on Sunday that a helicopter hovered above Matildas training so photographs could be taken.

Young gun Mary Fowler shows off her skills. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

A TV crew? Danish spies? A soccer fan with an expensive toy?

Gustavsson asked for footage of the secret session to be used for good and not sporting evil.

He had no problem with the intrusion. “I’ll try to be a bit funny here. It says that the interest has gone sky-high, right?” he said. “Sorry, that was a bad one. It does say a lot about the interest in the team and what is happening in the country. I give these players credit for that.

“Their why (for playing) is so much bigger than football. Obviously as a coach, you’re standing there and thinking OK, what pictures are they taking now? Are things going to leak? How’s this going to influence us?

“You have to respect there’s people trying to get creative and get insights to things and want to follow the team in every sense they can.

“I would obviously hope the people that potentially captured something show respect to the team and the fans.

“Because I think the fans don’t want to have anything revealed that can hurt our performance from tomorrow.

Australian coach Tony Gustavsson. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

“Whoever captured that, I hope they respect our will and the fans’ will in that sense.”

The challenge for the Matildas against the Danes is to play with their trademark underdog mentality despite being favourites. “The players have been phenomenal in terms of living in the ­moment right in front of them,” their Swedish coach said.

“You could see it clearly in the performance against Canada. It wasn’t even a mindset to take one game at a time.

“It was to take one run, one tackle, one pass at a time. In a game like this, it’s not about ­history or the past. It’s about this one game, this one moment … tempo and intensity are going to be keys and I think this game lives its own life.

“Can I say that in Swenglish? This game lives by itself. I know this team is ready for it. Sorry about the Swenglish.”