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The Matildas booked their place in their home World Cup with a convincing 2-0 victory vs Denmark. A goal in each half proved enough. Here is our summary of the match and our Australia women vs Denmark player ratings.
Match Summary
Contents
It was a cagey opening 15 minutes of the game with Denmark doing well to fend off any early push from the hosts. The pace was not very high too and this suited the Scandinavians.
It was a moment of individual magic just before the half-hour that finally gave Australia the breakthrough. An inch-perfect through ball from Fowler towards the speed-merchant Foord saw the latter breaking the deadlock with a composed finish.
Denmark tried to open and be more aggressive for the resumption. They committed their full-backs to much higher roles. This opened spaces for the Aussies and Foord in particular. Her electric speed saw her hurt Denmark on counterattack time after time. The best of the chances was when Foord picked the unmarked Van Egmond but her shot was straight at the keeper.
The calming second goal eventually came 20 minutes from time. Another move started by Foord saw Van Egmond producing a deft flick and the in-form Raso smashed in her third goal in 2 games to make it 2-0.
Cruising from that point on the Matildas had another reason to celebrate as 10 minutes from time their legendary striker Sam Kerr came off the bench, fully recovered from a calf injury, to play her first minutes of the World Cup. Kerr even went inches away from scoring and with her back, the Matildas really look like a team on a mission right now.
Australia women Player Ratings: Foord’s speed too much to handle
GK Mackenzie Arnold 7.3/10
DF Clare Hunt 7.5/10
DF Steph Catley 6.7/10
DF Alanna Kennedy 7.9/10
DF Ellie Carpenter 7.8/10
MF Hayley Raso 7.1/10
MF Caitlin Foord 8.3/10
MF Katrina Gorry 7.2/10
MF Kyra Cooney-Cross 7.0/10
FW Mary Fowler 8.0/10
FW Emily van Egmond 7.8/10
Substitutes
All 4 Australian substitutions were made very late on so there was no time to rate those players.
Denmark Player Ratings: lacked attacking threat all the way
GK Lene Christensen 5.7/10
DF Rikke Sevecke 6.4/10
DF Simone Boye 6.5/10
DF Stine Pedersen 6.4/10
DF Katrina Veje 7.1/10
MF Karen Holmgaard 6.1/10
MF Janni Thomsen 6.4/10
MF Kathrine Kuhl 6.5/10
MF Rikke Marie Madsen 6.9/10
FW Paernille Harder 6.6/10
FW Amalie Vansgaard 6.2/10
Substitutes
All 4 subs were made inside the final 20 minutes so those players were not rated.
Player of the Match: Caitlin Foord
Caitlin Foord’s blistering speed made her impossible to contain in this match. She scored the crucial first goal to break the pattern of the game. Once more spaces opened for her in the second half Foord became even more impactful and with her actions, she created 6 big chances.
Foord probably should have scored more. Still, despite some wasted chances she is our Player of the Match as her contributions were crucial for both goals.
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