Of course it had to end with penalties. It would have been hard to script a more fitting ending to the Matildas’ quarter-final clash with France. Four years on from the nightmare in Nice, when the Matildas exited the last World Cup on penalties to Norway, the ghosts of that heart-wrenching defeat could be found at every turn at Brisbane Stadium on Saturday.
Just like Norway, France won the toss to shoot first – history shows that the team taking the opening spot-kick has a considerable advantage, statistically and psychologically. On both occasions the captain, Sam Kerr, was called upon in a clutch moment – four years ago with Australia’s first attempt, after Norway had converted theirs; this time as penalty taker number three, after the advantage had seesawed from Australia and then back to France.
Kerr’s kick would not decide the match – it would take another 14 attempts to settle the nail-biting last-eight encounter. Nor did her opener in Nice, when she skied the ball high and wide – the Matildas could have mathematically recovered, although they did not. But on both occasions Kerr’s attempt had huge symbolic significance, the team’s talisman stepping up to the white dot and taking the nation on her shoulders.
Last time around, Kerr looked visibly uncomfortable as she waited to shoot. In Brisbane, there was only calmness. She stood ready, soaking up the noise. And then the Chelsea star blasted the ball past France’s substitute goalkeeper Solène Durand. Kerr looked around, raised one fist and then hit her chest with the other. It was an image of defiance, as if to say: never any doubt.
Kerr’s penalty underscored the Matildas’ mental resilience, the incredible fortitude that has seen them go deeper at this tournament than any senior Australian team of any gender has gone before at a World Cup. The spectre of penalties could have shattered the Matildas after 120 long minutes, had the team still been haunted by what happened four years ago. Instead they rose to the occasion. The Nice nightmare is no more.
“The only penalty I was thinking about when I stepped up was the last World Cup when I missed,” said Kerr after the match. “[In Nice] I went away from my routine and what I did. So this time it was all about just self-belief and putting it where I normally do.” Walking to the white dot, Kerr recalled, she had a singular focus. “Routine,” she said. “Routine.”
It is all the more impressive given the Matildas have not sought out any dedicated psychological assistance following the penalty-induced exit in Nice. Instead, they gathered themselves as a team, rebuilt their confidence together and prepared to go again. The Matildas knew this was coming – as coach Tony Gustavsson pointed out earlier this tournament, historically the team that lifts the World Cup wins at least one match on penalties.
Where last time the moment got the better of the Matildas, this time they displayed nerves of steel. The team was prepared for the moment. “I know how much investment we’ve done to prepare for a PK shootout,” said Gustavsson. “Technically, tactically, mentally, physically – all aspects of a shootout. Even how we circle up before the shootout, how they stand in the circle, how they walk up, the pre-shot routine. Trust the preparation – that’s all we spoke about, I said: “We’re ready.’”
But preparation is only part of the equation. In the crucial moment, all the preparation in the world can desert a player, a team. But these Matildas are tough. They were ready and they were strong. The moment did not get to them. They got the better of the moment.
That mental strength will be critical in the semi-final on Wednesday, less than 100 hours after the penalty victory, when the team must go again in the clash with England. It will be mentally draining to recover from the ecstasy of that rollercoaster victory, psychologically straining to focus only on the match ahead of them. But whether the semi-final is decided in regular time, extra time or in another shootout, the Matildas have demonstrated their resilience in the face of overwhelming pressure. And that is the hallmark of a successful team.
After every match at this home World Cup, the Matildas have repeated a familiar incantation. “One game at a time, one game at a time,” insisted Kerr on Saturday. The squad are cautious not to look too far ahead. But they have also revealed themselves as a team that does not look too far behind. Past defeats are remembered only as motivation, not agony.
These Matildas have resilience in spades. Will it be enough to send them past England and into the World Cup final? With past ghosts banished, anything seems possible.
