On Sunday, in the lead‑up to Australia’s last-16 match against Denmark in Sydney, Caitlin Foord issued a challenge to the Matildas fans. “We love a big crowd, we love a loud crowd,” said Foord, who grew up just an hour away, on Australia’s south-east coast. “I still think Sydney can be louder.”
When Foord scored midway through the first half on Monday evening, the first of two goals from the Matildas that took them past Denmark and into the World Cup quarter-finals, she wheeled away towards the corner flag. The Arsenal attacker looked up at the green-and-gold-clad fans, as they had begun a goal-induced moment of collective ecstasy. Foord raised a hand to her ear, as if to say “louder still”. The crowd erupted and the winger duly leapt into the air in gratitude. It was loud all right.
The moment marked the start of a jubilant night for the Matildas, as they reached the last eight for the fourth time. The midfielder Hayley Raso put the game beyond doubt in the second half, before the team’s talismanic striker Sam Kerr – the face of this home World Cup – made her return to the pitch following the calf injury she sustained on the eve of the tournament. It was not an easy win, but it was accomplished. The sort of victory that suggests the Matildas could go deep in this tournament.
The last time these teams met, Denmark scored in the first minute – and in Sydney they again started strongly, testing goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold with several early opportunities. The Matildas soon regained composure but struggled to break through Denmark’s robust midfield; if Australia’s counterattack against Canada last week had been like a hot knife through butter, this felt like they were running into a brick wall.
Unable to find space through the midfield, the Matildas reverted to long diagonal balls to the wings with little effect. Meanwhile Denmark continued to threaten – Kerr’s former Chelsea teammate Pernille Harder showing why she was once the world’s most expensive player. A knock to the captain, Steph Catley, briefly silenced the raucous 75,784 crowd – equalling the attendance record set in the opening match against Ireland – only for the noise to resume when the wing‑back jogged back into position.
The pace came off the match as the first half continued, with the occasional frenetic moment down the flanks enlivening what otherwise became a chess-like tactical battle. But as is the magic of football, this beautiful game that enraptures so many of us, that it only took one of those split second moments to change everything.
An attacking ball from Denmark on the edge of the Matildas’ area was miscued and found its way to Foord, lurking much further back than her left-wing position would ordinarily dictate. It reflected the concerted pressure Denmark had mounted during the first half, but it would also prove their undoing.
Foord gathered the ball and laid it off to Mary Fowler, who advanced through the middle of the pitch. Foord did not waste a second – breaking down the left with such ferocity that she may as well have been competing in a 100-metre sprint.
It was a box-to-box effort and Fowler’s perfectly placed through ball was waiting for Foord when she reached Denmark’s 18-yard line. The Matildas’ attacking ace was too fast for the chasing defender Stine Ballisager, and Foord dispatched past the onrushing goalkeeper Lene Christensen in the nick of time.
If the Matildas learned one lesson from their group-stage defeat by Nigeria, it was that the minutes between scoring and the half-time whistle are critical. Nigeria’s sucker‑punch just before the break turned the game against Australia. But this time there would be no repeat. As the minutes ticked down and Denmark’s pressure increased, the Matildas held on. It was not pretty but it was effective, and Australia entered half-time with their one‑goal advantage.
It was much the same in the early phases of the second half, with the crowd seemingly more excited by Kerr warming up on the sidelines than the nervy tussle on the main stage. She disappeared briefly, down the tunnel, before returning with a new playing shirt to yet more applause.
The distraction did not last long. Fowler collected the ball on the halfway line and drove it through the heart of the Danish midfield, before finding Kyra Cooney-Cross out wide.
The ball came back central for more Fowler magic, this time at the top of Denmark’s area. She sliced a pass through to Emily van Egmond, lurking in the six-yard box, who considered a shot before passing back towards an unmarked Raso. The recent Real Madrid signing rifled her shot past Christensen for her third goal of the tournament. Cue more jubilation in the stands. A World Cup quarter-final place was in the grasp of the Matildas.
But the crowd saved their biggest roar for the 79th minute. Kerr was ready to enter the game for the first time at this World Cup. The No 20 came up on the substitute board and suddenly this was it, the moment an entire nation had anxiously awaited over the past three weeks. Kerr-watch had become Kerr-time. Her every touch was celebrated and although she had a limited impact on the game, the symbolism was just as significant.
Australia will now head to Brisbane for their quarter-final on Saturday, where they will face the winner of the match on Tuesday between France and Morocco.
