Sam Kerr has declared herself fit to play against Olympic champions Canada in the Matildas’ must-win final group stage match at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
“I’m going to be there, I’m going to be ready,” Kerr said on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference in Brisbane, the first time she has answered questions about a calf injury suffered 10 days ago, Kerr confirmed that she was in a position to be picked against Canada.
“The plan has always been the same – miss the first two games and then reassess,” Kerr said. “I’m feeling good. I was out on the pitch today, as good as I can be.”
Kerr’s participation in training on Saturday was her first full session with the team since the injury.
Australia must beat Canada in Melbourne to guarantee progression to the round of 16, following the shock defeat to Nigeria on Thursday. A draw will leave the team’s hopes subject to the result in the simultaneous clash between Nigeria and Ireland – in which the Irish need to beat the Super Falcons and goal difference to break Australia’s way.
Kerr suffered a calf injury in a warm-up at training a week and a half ago, on the eve of the Matildas’ World Cup opener against Ireland. Her absence was sensationally announced barely an hour before the blockbuster clash in front of a capacity-crowd at Stadium Australia.
Ever since, the status of Kerr’s recovery has come under intense scrutiny, with Football Australia remaining silent about the health of the Matildas’ captain.
Kerr laughed when asked about the global attention on her calf muscle. “It’s hilarious because I have the biggest calves in the world,” she said. “So I’m not sure why it decided to play up the day before the World Cup. But that’s sport for you, isn’t it.”
The Chelsea striker would not be drawn on whether she would start against Canada or come off the bench. Fellow striker Mary Fowler, who missed the clash with Nigeria after suffering a concussion, is also expected to be available on Monday.
“I would love to tell you guys everything but you know yourself, being in sport a long time, that that’s a massive thing that opposition wants to know,” Kerr said. “Like Tony said yesterday, it’s going to go down to the wire. I’m definitely going to be available but how we decided to use that is not to be given to the opposition.”
The Matildas captain insisted that the team could beat the Olympic champions and qualify for the knockout stage. “I’m really confident,” said Kerr. “Last time we played Canada obviously we didn’t get the results but we had four or five players out missing. We feel really confident – we’ve grown so much over the past year.”
She said that the team had bounced back from the shock loss to Nigeria. “Yesterday was a day to digest the game,” she said. “But today we woke up with a spring in our step. Everyone’s feeling really good.”
Speaking after the news broke, Matildas wingback Ellie Carpenter described the impact to the team of Kerr’s return. “It’s a massive boost for us – to get our captain, our leader and such a world class player back in our squad,” said the Lyon defender.
Carpenter insisted she was undaunted by the significance of Monday’s clash, arguably one of the most important matches in Australian football history.
“We know we need to be on our A-game on Monday night,” she said. “We need players to step up, we need players to rise to the occasion.
“It’s a pressure moment, I know for a fact we obviously have our backs to the wall, it’s do-or-die,” Carpenter added. “I think we’re better in those situations, when we’re the underdogs, when we have everything to fight for. Everyone needs to give their heart and no matter what happens we have to stick together.”
