Sam Kerr: Australia respect Ireland but it's about ourselves

CONFIDENT: Australia's captain Sam Kerr, right, and head coach Tony Gustavsson attend a press conference at Stadium Australia in Sydney ahead of their opening World Cup match against Ireland on Thursday. Pic: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft

Australia’s superstar Sam Kerr intends showing no mercy against tournament debutants Ireland on Thursday when they kick off the World Cup laden with expectation.

In the Chelsea striker, who has scored 63 goals in 120 caps, the Matildas have arguably the best striker in the world.

Thrown in another Irish eligible attacker in Mary Fowler, allied to Arsenal playmaker Caitlin Foord, and the co-hosts possesses a blistering array of firepower to rival any other contender at the 64-game bonanza kicking off on Thursday.

They showed against France in last Friday’s final friendly, when Fowler sprung from the bench, the depth of personnel at the disposal of boss Tony Gustafsson.

Kerr is embracing rather than fearing the burden of the home fires burning.

Every word she uttered at the Sydney Olympic Stadium over the 20 minutes reflected of a solid confidence in navigating a group that also contains Olympic Gold medalists and Nigeria.

“We have seen some of Ireland’s previous games but it’s about us tomorrow,” the Chelsea mainstay said of the homecoming, before a full crowd of 75,000.

“We need to make sure we are on top of our game. Every opponent brings new challenges but once we can play our game we can adapt to what comes at us. We respect Ireland, they have had some good results lately but it’s about us tomorrow.

“I’m really excited about playing in front of a packed stadium. But as a team, it’s going to go up and down, so just live in the moment. We’ve waited a long time for this game.

“We’ve spoken about it. It’s okay to feel nervous, because that is life, that’s football life. We can talk about it, it’s about being in the moment and supporting one another. 50,000 the other day against France in Melbourne was amazing. We dealt with it really well.

“It’s nice when they’re going to be cheering you on rather than booing you.

“For me, the expectation has kind of been growing for the past four years, it’s been something I’ve learnt to deal with, it’s something I’ve really enjoyed. I’m really proud that we’ve got a home World Cup. I’m really excited for it, but of course everyone in Australia has a lot of expectations but it’s something I take in my stride and try and just enjoy it. Back at Chelsea, I‘ve done that too, I just enjoy it. And that’s when I’m at my best. So for me it’s about enjoying it, expectation just comes from outside noise.” 

Gustafsson, a Swede, was scathing of his team that lost 3-2 to Ireland in a friendly almost two years ago at Tallaght but doesn’t worry about a repeat shock. Watching Vera Pauw’s side lose their unbeaten record against top nations USA and France this year offers weaknesses to exploit.

“We’ve had time to think what this game will look like,” said the manager, confirming the starting 11 is already chosen in his mind.

“If you look at Ireland’s games lately against top teams, there’s no coincidence that they have been really, really strong at the beginning of both the first and second halves.

“But it's also no coincidence that they’ve conceded goals late in each half. Especially when it comes to tactics and behaviours of one or two players that we’ve identified. We hope to strike against those tomorrow.

“I’m not going to say what but there’s a clear trend there we’ll target. Then, in terms of the roster, it’s all about the 90 minutes.

“I’ll say how important it is for this team to win games off the bench, like we did against France. It was scoreless and a player came on to be the game-changer. The team that finishes is as important as the one that starts for us.”