The Matildas will come out “all guns blazing” with spots on the line at their dress rehearsal for the World Cup with superstar skipper Sam Kerr ready to bring her scintillating form with Chelsea back home.
Australia is preparing to play three matches in seven days against Czechia, Spain and Jamaica in the Cup of Nations tournament, which begins on Thursday as the Matildas look to simulate the challenge they will face in the World Cup group stage.
Players are still arriving from their overseas clubs, but 13 of the 25-strong squad hit the track at the team’s Sydney camp on Monday, including Kerr, who scored four times in her last start for Chelsea.
Midfielder Katrina Gorry says there was “tension around the group” in the lead up to the four-team tournament, after which the Matildas squad will be cut from 25 to 23 for the World Cup in July.
“We always want to wear the Aussie jersey and wear it with pride, and whenever camp selection comes up it’s all guns blazing, and out on the training pitch nothing really changes,” she said.
“We’re fighting for spots, and we’re just trying to get better as each day passes.”
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The Matildas’ carefully selected opponents were picked to mirror their World Cup group members, with Thursday’s game against Czechia in Gosford to provide a test against a side most similar to Ireland, Gorry said.
“They are all kind of similar to our opponents in the World Cup, probably more Ireland than anyone,” she said.
“But I think just playing different opponents is good enough for us to adjust our formation, adjust our press.
“We will get a better idea of who we come up against and the different formations, things like that.”
Gorry said the sharp recent form of Kerr and the soon-to-arrive Caitlin Foord had the Matildas excited, with the pair to face off in the English League Cup final on March 5 with their respective clubs, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Kerr bagged four goals last week as Chelsea demolished West Ham 7-0 in the tournament semi-final, and has scored 20 goals in all competitions this season.
“Obviously we know what Sam’s capable of but there’s all the players throughout the team that are doing really well at their clubs at the moment, I think they’re hitting peak performance at the right time,” Gorry said.
“I think Cate (Foord) has done really well for us, definitely in the last few games … she’s going to be a really exciting one to watch in the lead up to the World Cup.”
Gorry said she was thrilled that the Matildas’ World Cup opener against Ireland had been shifted across Sydney from Allianz Stadium to Stadium Australia, to allow up to 40,000 extra fans to attend.
“It’s absolutely massive that they’ve moved stadium so we can get more people in the crowd, I think it just shows how amazing the World Cup is going to be and how many more supporters we have on board,” she said.
CUP OF NATIONS – MATCH SCHEDULE
Match Day One
Date: Thursday, 16 February 2023
Venue: Industree Group Stadium, Gosford, NSW
Match One: Spain v Jamaica – 4.10pm AEDT.
Match Two: CommBank Matildas v Czechia – 7.10pm AEDT.
Match Day Two
Date: Sunday, 19 February 2023
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney, NSW
Match One: Jamaica v Czechia – 2.50pm AEDT.
Match Two: CommBank Matildas v Spain – 6.00pm AEDT.
Match Day Three
Date: Wednesday, 22 February 2023
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, NSW
Match One: Czechia v Spain – 2.30 pm AEDT.
Match Two: CommBank Matildas v Jamaica – 7.10pm AEDT.
