Australia vs. England
The title hopes of 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosts Australia came to an unfortunate end before a 75,000-strong crowd at the Stadium Australia in Sydney on Wednesday. A 1-3 defeat against reigning European Champions England sends the Waltzing Matilda’s to Saturday’s third-place-playoff against Tuesday’s losing side Sweden.
After Ella Toone gave the Lionesses a 1-0 lead in the first half, Aussie talisman Samantha Kerr – in her first start of the tournament – scored a dream goal from distance to equalize give the home supporters hope. Regrettably, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo added goals in quick succession to close out the victory.
The tactics of both managers were of great relevance.
Tactical Analysis: England and Australia
We’ll have to begin with the blunt fact that Sarina Wiegmann out-maneuvered her counterpart with her opening hand. The England manager made no changes to her previous XI, but clearly re-formatted the previous 3-4-1-2 into a much more effective 3-5-2. The flexibility of the system was actually apparent during some previous fixtures, in which Lauren James and later Ella Toone sometimes received some additional help on the direct support axis. Wiegmann’s side covered much more ground in this:
Lineup—England—Match Six (3-5-2)
One could immediately tell that Keira Walsh hung close to the back-three, keeping a vertical line with the deeply pocketed Millie Bright. Stanway moved up to pair with Toone. Though the first half remained cagey for long stretches, the Lionesses manage to generate threatening drives whilst the co-hosts produced almost nothing of note. Stanway got the first shot in on target after Alex Greenwood sprung her with a brilliant chip-ball in the 9th. Russo and Hemp linked up inside the box for the first time in the 14th.
The English attacking engine showed a flash here and there before the Europeans took a deserved lead in the 36th. The 1-0 actually came off a quick-throw during which the Aussies weren’t quite set. Russo asserted herself well near the baseline before cutting back from the half-right. Hemp shrewdly left for the onrushing Toone with a clever dummy leave. Toone finished across the face of goal from wide on the half-left and bulged the right corner of the net. All the Aussies could manage in response were some light threats off dead-balls.
Gustavsson made two personnel changes to the previous XI. One enforced change at the back saw the ill Alanna Kennedy replaced by Clare Polkinghorne. Sam Kerr also rejoined the lineup in Emily van Egmond’s place.As the author feared, a rather uninspired 4-4-2 didn’t generate enough varying possession play to penetrate the attacking third much. The recommendation to move Caitlin Foord central and drop Mary Fowler for Cortnee Vine sought to remedy this foreseeable problem.
Lineup—Australia—Match Six (4-4-2)
Fowler struggled to involve herself in the play at all. The subdued positioning of Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso unfortunately left both attackers starting to deep. The most likely reason Gustavsson opted to keep this in place concerned the fact that he wanted his strongest on-the-ball player lined up against the equally robust Lucy Bronze. Sensible enough, but the gambit didn’t work. Bronze won just about every direct duel, shutting down Foord offensively in a manner unprecedented this tournament and having her way against her moving forward.
Whereas the English attack exhibited plenty of fluidity, the Aussies only punched through on a couple of rare occasions. Ellie Carpenter peeled off a couple of nice runs that regrettably didn’t have the best crosses attached to the end of them. Raso won a pair of corners. Gustavsson’s designs from the flag at least had some intelligence to them. Carpenter and Katrina Gorry did well to prevent further damage at the back. Things were stable in some senses, but one definitely expected at least one personnel change and something of a tactical shift from Gustavsson at the half.
It didn’t come. Fowler sometimes folded in behind Kerr on a tight axial chain behind Kerr when the Matildas charged. This had the effect of building barely discernible pressure in a few instances. The game-plan remained long-verticals in Kerr’s direction. Bright and Walsh had that covered. Even if the co-hosts got the services off, Kerr would have been offside. Only something special could alter the flow of this affair. Kerr proved so gracious enough to provide it with that incredible laser from 25 meters out in the 63rd.
The sound of 75,000 plus going absolutely bonkers following Sam Kerr’s equalizer won’t soon be forgotten. Carpenter will wish to forget what transpired eight minutes later. The Lyon star’s best performance of the whole competition got eclipsed by her failure to get her foot around a ball in a direct duel with the pressing Russo in the 71st. Carpenter whiffed twice. Russo accepted the invitations. The guests reclaimed a 2-1 lead. Gustavsson had Vine ready on the sidelines on a straight swap for Raso just prior to the goal.
A tactical reformat needed more time.
It came via Van Egmond for Polkinghorne in the 81st.
Lineup—Australia—81st minute (4-3-3)
The author isn’t entirely sure if this was how it was supposed to work or not. Gustavsson’s wild gesticulations from the sidelines seemed to suggest the he desired something different up top. In any event, it did come close to working. Kerr narrowly missed on a trio of chances in the 82nd, 84th, and 85th. Vine forced a fine save out of England keeper Mary Earps as well. All it would take was one stray pass out of the back to allow England to break through on the counter, however.
Gorry left her fellow line mates exposed in the 86th. Hemp shielded the ball well with some very deft touches before sending Russo through. The Arsenal Ladies striker took her own coldblooded touches to split the defenders covering the rest on the England rush, then finished cleanly past a helpless Arnold. A bitter end to the dream for the Aussies. Some developments could have broken the other way. Gustavsson’s tactics deserve to serve as a major talking point after this one.
Top Performers, Australia
1) Ellie Carpenter
One really feels for her. The 23-year-old superstar ran her socks off and executed some world-class tackles at the back. Easily the most active and audacious Aussie actor of both halves made one simple mistake. It was also a tough long-ball to anticipate. The budding-legend nevertheless had a largely excellent day, showing why she’s part of a new generation of female footballers working on million-euro contracts. So much to look forward to ahead of her long career.
2) Sam Kerr
Of course. The distance finish will serve as an advert for the women’s game for years to come. Eight (!!) perfect touches on the dribble ahead of that gorgeous tomahawk of a goal. Her touch looked a tad off on the subsequent three chances, but not by much. The 85th-minute first-time finish also looked immensely difficult. Amazing that the 29-year-old found her near best form so quickly. That’s why she’ll always occupy a space in the female footballing pantheon.
3) Mackenzie Arnold
Only one huge save from the team’s hero in the penalty shootout against France. It happened to be an incredible one. The Aussie net-minded stopped Stanway strongly early one and bravely punched away three England corners. The West Ham #1 kept her ranks organized in both shapes and couldn’t be faulted for any of the Lioness tallies.
Top Performers, England
1) Millie Bright
The de-facto captain silenced all of her critics throughout the course of this tournament by steadily improving in each match. Wonderful stuff early on from the 29-year-old at the back. Bright remained strong in the duels, kept Kerr offside, ran the passing out of the back almost perfectly and set up what proved the game-winning-goal with that amazing vertical. Amazing how she’s compensated for Leah Williamson in this competition.
2) Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, and Alessia Russo
What a finish from Toone on the 1-0! The 23-year-old also silenced her fair share of critics. The double striker set of Hemp and Russo both played a role in helping set her up, but the lead wouldn’t have come without that thunderous effort. One honestly can’t really separate this attacking trio when it comes to who deserves the “player-of-the-match” honors. The author will cast a tentative ballot for Toone of what might as well be a three-way tie.