Day 18: True History of the Chloe Kelly Gang

England leave it late whilst Australia barely break a sweat

England 0 (4) - Nigeria 0 (2)

When Lauren James stamped down on Michelle Alozie’s back, it felt like England were going to be going the way of many of the other favourites at the competition: unceremoniously dumped out before the tournament had really got going. Instead it actually seemed to give them the impetus to focus, stay tight, and effectively play for penalties which despite Georgia Stanway missing their first one, they dispatched with aplomb.

Disaster averted then from an English perspective, who remain significant  supercomputer favourites at this point. 

But this was another game whereby England felt like they were playing catch up against a team who had a better plan than them. Sarina Wiegman stuck with the 3-5-2 she had used against China to such great effect but Nigeria used a player-marking system with a high press that reduced the space England were able to find between the lines.

At points when England did find gaps, particularly through the returning Keira Walsh’s switches of play, you could see what they were trying to do in attack, but they were too often imprecise on the ball. Nigeria meanwhile were able to gang up on the wingbacks, all too often leaving Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly scrambling and requiring protection from Jess Carter and Alex Greenwood. Ultimately though for all of Nigeria’s threat they struggled to create their own clear cut chances and by the time Lauren James was sent off, England looked like they backed themselves to wait for penalties and win from there. 

For England moving forward, they must now once again look at the system and why it did not work here. There will be no James for at least the quarter-final, possibly for longer, which could see the return of Ella Toone centrally. Walsh’s habit of dropping back also increased the gap between defence and attack in this system, which could mean we see a return to a back four. But at the same time the back three has given England more defensive solidity, even if they occasionally wobbled against Nigeria. Wiegman has five days now to rethink a team she has been forced to constantly rethink since winning the Euros. 

Australia 2 - Denmark 0

From being on the brink of elimination to reaching the quarter-finals with relative ease, Australia’s journey through this World Cup has certainly not been without its ups and downs. They were favourites in this match against a Denmark side who can be best described as ‘fine’. Even though Denmark had large amounts of possession in this match, they created little. Australia meanwhile saw those players who have stepped into Sam Kerr’s boots so far this tournament all shine collectively on an uplifting night for Australian football.

Katrina Gorry and Kyra Cooney-Cross once again looked comfortable in controlling the midfield with Gorry particularly impressive. Mary Fowler’s crossfield ball to set Caitlin Foord free was a moment of magic from the 20 year old who has seemingly ignited the Matilda’s World Cup campaign since returning from a concussion. Then there was Foord herself, who is playing with a swagger that she has shown in glimpses throughout the season but is revelling in at this point. She was unafraid to take on defenders and finished exceedingly coolly to open the scoring. Raso also got in on the act after Denmark simply sat off all of the Australian attack and has shown herself to be more than adept at grabbing any loose ball or defensive disorganisation. 

But it felt like the biggest cheer of all was Kerr’s return to the pitch. Tony Gustavsson will now have to figure out if or how he wants to rejig this team if he is going to fit her in, but it was clear that even her stepping onto the grass felt like a boost mentally. If her shooting looked a bit rusty, there were glimpses, even in ten minutes, of her hold up play (one of the most underrated bits of her game still) which could be crucial as Australia face trickier teams. 

Australia look well-settled in their system, have proven they can play without their best player, and now have the benefit of having her back for the quarter-final. It certainly feels like things are starting to swing in the host’s favour.