Matilda Mania: Amazing Story of How Sam Kerr’s Australia Swept Across an Entire Nation

When Cortnee Vine buried her penalty on August 12 to bring to an end the penalty shootout between Australia and France, she sent the Matildas into uncharted territory.

Never before had an Australian team, male or female, reached the last four of a World Cup. But here they were, making history in front of a sold-out Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Crazy doesn't even begin to describe that penalty shootout against Herve Renard's Les Bleus. Just when we thought that the USA vs Sweden post-match incident was bonkers, France and Australia subtly said, hold my beer.

They had the opportunity to win the game twice but threw them away before Vine cooly dispatched her effort to punch her team's ticket to the semifinal.

The delirium afterwards depicted a team, backed by a hopeful nation, that has made steady improvements over the years.

The Matildas' rise to the extent they got the favourites tag for the 2023 World Cup was another proof that football is not guesswork - you need to put in the work.

Tony Gustavsson's appointment

After countless exits in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, Australia decided to ring up some changes ahead of the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics. The appointment of Tony Gustavsson was a surprise given that he had never held a senior national team job before - let alone a squad peppered with stars like the Matildas.

But in Gustavsson, the Aus were getting a coach who had worked hand in hand with the legendary Jill Ellis as he assistant during her back-to-back World Cup triumphs with the United States. The Swede had also worked under Pia Sundhage.

In between his stints as Ellis and Sundhage assistants, he led Tyresso to the 2014 Women's Champions League final, where he lost to Wolfsburg.

His reign began in high-octane fashion after he guided the yellow and green ladies to the semis of the Tokyo Olympics. They eventually finished fourth.

Damaging defeats

But somewhere along the way, they regressed and lost track as Gustavsson kept on tinkering with his formations and pool of players. They were knocked out of the Asian Cup in the quarterfinals by eventual winners before suffering a damaging 7-0 loss to Spain in June last year.

Now, a 7-0 loss with the World Cup barely a year away for a host nation doesn't really paint a picture of readiness. The country's FA stuck by him as he embarked on a four-match winless run. After the Spain mauling, they drew with Portugal before the back-to-back losses to Olympic gold Canada.

After those Canada losses, something had to give. The 50-year-old stuck with a 4-4-2 on paper, where Arsenal's Caitlin Foord and Real Madrid's Hayley Raso provided the width as Mary Fowler played directly behind Sam Kerr.

They went on to win nine games out of ten in their build-up matches. Of the 9 wins, they exacted their revenge on Spain, destroyed Sweden and halted Sarina Wiegman's unbeaten run as England's manager.

That win over the European champions in April sent out a clear message - the Matildas were ready to rub shoulders with the best on home soil.

Masterstroke friendlies

Another thing to note was the Aussies organised and played friendlies with the teams they were most likely to meet in the knockout stages of the World Cup. They beat Denmark(round of 16 opponents), France(quarterfinals opponents), England(semi-final opponents), Sweden(third-place opponents and could have easily been the final), plus the aforementioned Spain, whom they could have met in the final under different circumstances.

If these friendlies were by design, then it was a pure piece of genius from the FA.

Loss of Sam Kerr

But however much and well you lay down your plans, there are some things you can't just foresee. Disaster struck when Kerr picked up a calf injury just a day before the opener against Ireland. How do you deal with losing not only the captain but the best striker in the world?

To make matters worse, Mary Fowler was ruled out of the second game against Nigeria with a concussion. The Super Falcons proceeded to stage one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, leaving the Aussies in a delicate situation - beat Canada or go home. Never mind, they were home already.

Enter Gustavsson. With still no Kerr, Emily Van Egmond was paired up front with the returning Fowler. Van Egmond is a midfielder but was deployed as a false 9, which caused the Canadian defence a lot of issues. Full-time score, 4-0, with the prize being a round of 16 berth.

They breezed past Denmark, but that wasn't the only positive of the night. Kerr was fit again and made a cameo off the bench to a raucous stadium. An effect she replicated against France when she lasted for an hour(extra time included) before burying her penalty in that crazy shootout.

Here they were, in the semifinals for the first time ever. What was more impressive is that Gustavsson's ladies had done it without the major help of the go-to source for goals. The semifinal qualification in itself was huge.

That Sam Kerr goal

With their all-time top goalscorer returning, confidence was high against England. The face of the tournament oozed class with a strong contender for the goal of the tournament, but it wasn't meant to be.

Wiegman reared her tactical head once again to become the first woman to take two different nations to the World Cup finals. She will be hoping that this time around, she can win it.

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For Australia, they couldn't be prouder. Not only did they stage a beautiful tournament, but they showed up for it. The crowds showed up, backed them and supported them even on the difficult days.

And just in case the message wasn't clear enough to the powers that be - support women's football. Australia couldn't have given you a more perfect example.