World Cup 2023: Matildas reach semi-finals after penalty shootout win over France
Amid what felt like nationwide heart palpitations, Cortnee Vine kept her cool in the psychological torment of a penalty shootout to deliver a history-making moment.
A disallowed own-goal, head clashes, heavy tackles, near-misses, exhaustion, unbelievable tension, a marathon penalty shootout – but ultimately, a win. Crikey. What barn-burning, nerve-shredding drama. What an explosion of euphoria. The Matildas are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup after beating France in the thriller to top all thrillers at Brisbane Stadium on Saturday night.
An impossibly nerve-racking game came down to the psychological torment of a penalty shootout when scores were locked at nil-all. Amid what felt like nationwide heart palpitations, and what ended with France’s devastated players collapsing on the turf in tears, the Australians won the shootout 7-6.
The Matildas were the dominant team in regular and extra time. They just could not find the back of the net. Alanna Kennedy’s headed own-goal in extra time momentarily broke a million hearts before it was disallowed by VAR. With every passing minute, the penalty shootout hovered like a grim reaper. Whoever lost, this would be a terrible way to go out. Two minutes before the shootout, France rushed out fresh goalkeeper Solene Durand – reminiscent of the Socceroos’ use of Andrew Redmayne at last year’s men’s World Cup. A specialist saver of penalties.
The music over the loudspeakers before the shootout was Guns ‘N Roses’ Welcome to The Jungle. A wild ride was imminent. The crowd erupted roared it was the dash for home at the end of a Melbourne Cup. The Matildas’ Mackenzie Arnold saved the first shot from France’s Selma Bacha and roared, “Come on!” Caitlin Foord scored. It was 1-0 to Australia.
Kadidiatou Diani scored for France. Steph Catley’s shot was saved. One-all. Wendie Renard scored for France. Sam Kerr scored for the Matildas. Cool as a cucumber. Two-all. Eugenie Le Sommer made no mistake for France. Mary Fowler cannoned her ball into the net. Three-all. France’s Eve Perisset missed. Arnold turned around and took a shot to win. Hit the right post. France’s Grace Geyoro scored. The Matildas’ Katrina Gorry face excruciating pressure to keep the Matildas in it. Found the net. France’s Sakina Karchaoui scored, so did Tameka Yallop ….
It might never end. Goal to Maelle Lakrar for France. Six-five to France. Goal to Ellie Carpenter. Somebody call for pizza. Arnold saved Kenza Dali’s shot, but the VAR called for a repeat because Arnold moved off her line. Arnold saved it again. Clare Hunt’s shot was saved.
Six-all. A miss from France’s Vicki Becho. And then finally, mercifully, expertly – Cortnee Vine won it and sent the masses into, well, mass delirium.
“This is something I just never dreamed of happening, it’s crazy,” Vine said post match. “I said I was willing to do whatever the team wanted me to do and Tony (Gustvasson) picked as tenth so I stood up.
“I just knew where I was going to put my pen ... I feel like in those moments, you just need to be confident in what you’ve practised.
“In the moment I felt like (Mackenzie Arnold) had done the job before me, she’s the one that saved it and I just had to put it away.”
Earlier, why wait? That was the burning question echoing around Suncorp Stadium. Nothing was between the sides. Not much was happening in attack for the Australians. With every passing minute in a locked scoreline, the murmur, the text messages, the emails and the social media posts grew in number and tone. When would Sam Kerr come on? Why leave it any longer?
The Matildas captain was named on the bench, proving her calf injury was far from fully healed, but it seemed wasteful for the world’s best player to be watching from the dugout. Difficult to score from there. It was nil-all at halftime and seriously, went every conversation, why the delay? The security guards, the bloke checking accreditation passes, the little girls, the boys, the mums, the dads, the grandparents were all saying it. Now, right? The Matildas needed someone special to break the game wide open. The captain was the woman for the job.
The wait felt interminable. There was movement at the dugout in the 55th minute. Kerr stood on the sideline. Hands on hips. Let me out there. Impatient. She went on for Emily van Egmond. It felt as though the game only started in that moment. Immediately, the noise from the 49, 461-strong crowd went through the roof. Previously, it had been rather muted. Kerr had an early touch and found space. The Matildas nearly scored. They were a different team from one moment to the next. Faster, more bold, more energetic, more creative, more dangerous. The atmosphere in the grandstands changed from a fun one to an electrifying one. She’s a rock star of an athlete. Changed the entire show just by stepping onto the stage. Another headline act, Cold Chisel frontman Jimmy Barnes, was in the stands.
Coach Tony Gustavsson said after the match he had toyed with the idea of starting his star striker, but went with the medical advice, which suggested she couldn’t last the distance because of a calf injury that limited her tournament match-time to less than 20 minutes before the epic quarter-final battle.
“The biggest decision was when to bring Sam on,” Gustavsson said. “It was a massive decision even before the game to leave her on the bench.
“Then it’s the timing. You want the timing right. I was informed that she had limited minutes for today, and then we had to put extra-time into consideration … because maybe it was another 30 minutes, so what’s the risk that she pulls the calf and how many minutes does she have.
“That was a massive decision to get that right. I think we got it right.”
Without Kerr, the Matildas had waited until the 41st minute for their first real scoring opportunity. The ball pinballed around the French penalty area before popping out and landing at the feet of Mary Fowler. From point-blank range, with the French goalkeeper out of play, Fowler made a good strike but defender Elisa De Almeida made a desperate lunge and deflected the shot with her thigh. She celebrated with a shout of, “Allez!”
Gustavsson had made it clear Kerr would start the match if declared fit by medical staff. Didn’t happen. She’s less than a 100 per cent but that’s still better than most. Before kick-off, Sam Cam was a hit. She skipped the Matildas’ pre-match warm-up and went straight to the dugout. When she did wander onto the pitch, the joint went nuts every time her face was shown on the big screen. She gave a thumbs-up and that was enough to elicit a thunderous roar. She was in good spirits and yet there was a harder edge to her on Saturday.
A World Cup quarter-final wasn’t the time to be mucking around. From the team-bus to the locker room, she’d worn headphones and stared straight ahead. Showtime for the world’s best player – but she had to bide her time.
Fowler had another clean swing at goal midway through the second half. It cannoned straight into French goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin’s legs. To extra time it went. Still nil-all. Kerr grabbed two water bottles and drank both of them dry. Tied up her ponytail like there was work to be done. Took a while, but they got there. Next up is a semi-final against England in Sydney on Wednesday.
We faced a Goliath of a goalie … what a game,” French coach Herve Renard said.
“This evening it was 50-50 but the destiny chose Australia.
“I think they can win the World Cup.”
Additional reporting: Erin Smith
More Coverage
Report fears A-League W could collapse within just two years
A scathing report into professional women’s football PFA fears the A-Leagues’ Women’s will crumble within two years if the league doesn’t turn full-time professional by the 2026 Asian Cup.
Matildas’ stunning sellout streak hits hurdle after Olympic shocker
The last time the Matildas played a friendly on home soil, the last tickets were snapped up only an hour after going on sale. But Football Australia isn’t ready for the streak to end just yet.