ABC Sport journalist Samantha Lewis is at Sydney stadium ahead of the Matildas’ first World Cup match on home soil.
The significance of Sam Kerr‘s absence from this opening game against Republic of Ireland can’t be overstated.
She isn’t just the team’s all-time leading goal-scorer, whose experience playing in big games like FA Cup finals has taught her how to show up in big moments, but she’s also a significant leader on the field.
The work she does when nobody is watching — the runs she makes, the space she creates, the channels she opens for others, her threat in the air — is a big part of why the Matildas have become who they are. She is the one player who is practically irreplaceable.
What does head coach Tony Gustavsson do from here? Youngster Mary Fowler seems to have been picked as Kerr’s understudy at centre-forward, but whether she has the gravity of Kerr — and is able to push and pull defenders quite as well as her captain — is a real doubt.
This puts a lot more pressure on the team’s other forwards like Hayley Raso, Cortnee Vine, and Caitlin Foord to step up and take their opportunities as soon as they arrive, because their opposition won’t be giving them many at all.
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