It was a night to remember for Australian football fans as the Matildas sealed a spot in the quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory over Denmark at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
Goals from Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso did the business for Tony Gustavsson’s side as they now await the winner of France’s Round of 16 clash against Morocco on Tuesday night.
Foxsports.com.au takes a look at how every Matildas player performed in Player Ratings!
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Apart from saving two early efforts from Denmark, it’s hard to remember Mackenzie Arnold having to make any saves of note throughout the entire game.
She crucially avoided a yellow card which would have ruled her out of the quarterfinals.
Steph Catley – 7
Had the opportunity to link up with Caitlin Foord on the left hand side once again.
It wasn’t quite to the same devastating effect as the duo enjoyed against Canada, but Catley was still solid in defence and made some key runs forward to drag markers away.
Sent scares through fans when she went down holding her ankle in the early minutes of the game but thankfully brushed off any injury concerns as she finished the contest on the park.
Alanna Kennedy – 8
It’s still baffling to think how little football Kennedy had played in the lead-up to the tournament when she continues to be cool and calm at the back.
Once again Kennedy was winning everything in the air and muscling her opponents off the ball in another rock-solid performance from the centre-back.
Clare Hunt – 8
Watching Hunt play is a lesson in deja vu.
The rookie has become a model of consistency in her brief time in the team – after all, she only debuted this year!
It’s incredible to see how quickly she has asserted herself on the international game.
She has as much composure under pressure as vision, is able to read the game and react brilliantly, able to tackle as hard as she makes passing out from the back look easy.
Hunt has arguably been Australia’s most consistent performer so far this World Cup.
Ellie Carpenter – 6.5
Carpenter started off shakily as Denmark looked to constantly attack down her flank whenever she was quite too high up the field.
But once Australia scored, Carpenter settled into the game and looked much more at home.
Although she didn’t embark on her usual barnstorming runs up the right side of the field, Carpenter stuck to her job as a defender and didn’t allow any easy runs or passes through.
Emily van Egmond – 8.5
Her hold-up play, receiving long balls facing backwards and laying them off for teammates, was a crucial factor in breaking the lines of a disciplined Danish defence.
Her range of passing was also on full display with a raking 50m pass late in the 38th minute that saw Caitlin Foord race into the box and carve out a deflected shot.
The veteran midfielder also had a chance to score Australia’s second but her back-heeled effort just didn’t have enough juice on it but she did chalk up an assist for Hayley Raso’s goal.
A solid all-action display from van Egmond in the false nine role.
Katrina Gorry – 8
Gorry’s heat map would just read red all over the field, such is the absurd amount of ground she covers.
‘Mini’ was yet again the Matildas’ metronome, spraying the ball across to both flanks and unafraid to get stuck into challenges.
The only criticism was that she was got bypassed by Pernille Harder a little too often leading up to Caitlin Foord’s goal but after that, Gorry was at her brilliant best yet again.
Kyra Cooney-Cross – 8.5
Cooney-Cross continues to play herself into a big move with yet another dazzling performance.
Like Gorry, the youngster had a slow start and struggled to deal with Denmark playing between the lines.
But Cooney-Cross quickly grew into the game and was flying from box-to-box.
She had bundles of energy throughout the contest and showed extreme composure in both the attacking and defensive phases of play.
Caitlin Foord – 10
What a performance from Foord.
Stationed out on the left flank once again, Foord was incredibly dangerous every single time she had the ball at her feet.
Foord got the opening goal of the game when she burst onto a Mary Fowler pass and fired a cool finish between the legs of Denmark’s goalkeeper.
It was essentially a flawless performance from the Arsenal forward and got a deserved standing ovation when she was substituted off in the 95th minute.
Mary Fowler – 9.5
Fowler may be just 20 years of age but she looks like she’s belonged on this stage for a long time.
The silky midfielder was once again deployed as a false nine in attack and defended in a front two alongside van Egmond when they didn’t have the ball.
She showcased plenty of skill in her assist for Foord’s goal when she turned past her marker before launching an inch-perfect pass in the path of her teammate who did the rest.
Fowler also topped the team in the tackle count, highlighting her willingness to get stuck in despite being somewhat of a flair player.
She also played a key role in the second goal as it was her strike that was deflected into the path of van Egmond who then laid it off to Raso.
Hayley Raso – 9
A real-life depiction of the Duracell bunny.
Raso was a constant menace up and down the right flank as she threw herself into several challenges.
Her constant presence in around the box paid off when she was on hand to fire home van Egmond’s lay-off for the second goal in what was Raso’s third goal in two games.
Long may her form continue.
SUBSTITUTES
Sam Kerr – 6
Came on in the 80th minute for Hayley Raso.
Kerr finally got her first minutes of the World Cup but looked rusty when she fired a pass straight into touch despite being under no pressure.
She had the crowd on their feet when she streaked towards goal, but she blazed her effort over the bar.
The fact she got 15 minutes is more important than anything else she could have done though and it’s great to have the skipper back.
Cortnee Vine – 5
Came on in the 80th minute for Emily van Egmond.
She was stationed out on the right and was tasked with stretching a tired Denmark backline but struggled to create anything of substance.
Tameka Yallop – N/A
Came on in the 95th minute for Caitlin Foord.
Had one key clearing header towards the end but had no time to do anything else.
Clare Polkinghorne – N/A
Came on in the 91st minute for Mary Fowler.
Not enough time to make a tangible impact but certainly helped shore up the backline in the final minutes.
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