England favourites but we have the crowd, says Australia coach
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[August 15, 2023]
By Nick Mulvenney
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia coach Tony Gustavsson is expecting a
close match against England in the Women's World Cup semi-finals on
Wednesday and is banking on the home crowd to lift the Matildas in
the biggest game of their lives.
While fourth-ranked England were semi-finalists at the last two
World Cups, and won the European Championship on home soil last
year, 10th-ranked Australia have never previously been past the
quarter-finals at a major global tournament.
"If you look at rankings they're favourites, if you look at where
their players play, they have starting players in top clubs in top
leagues all over the world," Gustavsson told reporters on Tuesday.
"Not just the starting 11, down to 15, 16. We have bench players in
those teams. We have players playing in mid-table teams in Sweden.
"So if you look at all that and you look at resources, financially,
obviously they are massive favorites going into this game.
"But the one thing that we have that they don't have is the support
and belief from the fans. That in itself is going to be massive
tomorrow."
Another sellout crowd of around the 75,000 mark is expected at
Stadium Australia for Wednesday's match and most will be backing the
home team.
Gustavsson said his top striker Sam Kerr was fit to play but he was
not certain that she would start as her workload was still being
managed because of the calf injury that ruled her out of Australia's
first three matches.
"There'll be a meeting tonight again to see the best starting 11,
the best finishing 11 and whether we plan for 90 minutes or plan for
an extra time," he said.
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Soccer Football - FIFA Women’s World Cup
Australia and New Zealand 2023 - Quarter Final - Australia v France
- Brisbane Stadium , Brisbane, Australia - August 12, 2023
Australia's Sam Kerr and teammates applaud fans after the match
REUTERS/Dan Peled/File photo
"There'll be some tough decisions again tonight but
Sam is definitely available for selection."
The Matildas may have no experience of matches at the business end
of a major global tournament but Gustavsson was an assistant coach
for the U.S. teams that won the last two World Cups in 2015 and
2019.
The 50-year-old Swede said that experience had taught him to expect
a tight game on Wednesday with extra time or penalties perhaps
required to separate the two teams.
"All it takes is one moment," he said. "That's why you need to play
in every single moment out there ... like that one moment can decide
whether you win or lose.
"You need to live in every single moment because that's how small
the margins are in the semi-final or final."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
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