With Kerr on home soil, Australia has high expectations for Women's World Cup

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Sam Kerr's Matildas will have more than 80,000 fans in the stadium and much of Australia watching when they get their Women’s World Cup campaign started against Ireland, making it the hottest sports ticket Down Under at a time usually dominated by men playing rugby league or Aussie rules.

It’s a phenomenal difference from just over two decades ago, when a group of Matildas players agreed to pose nude for a calendar leading into the 2000 Sydney Olympics in a bid to raise much-needed money and awareness for the women’s national soccer team.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has even floated the idea of a public holiday if the Matildas win the World Cup, a tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The team's main focus, though, is on topping a group containing Olympic champion Canada, Ireland and Nigeria.

After all, they’ve never gone past the quarterfinals at seven previous World Cups, being knocked out at that stage in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Ahead of the July 20 opener against the Irish in Sydney, the Matildas have never been so well prepared, resourced or promoted, or played such a big event on home soil. Ticket sales have already surpassed 1 million across both countries and FIFA is expecting a global record for women’s sports.

Australia coach Tony Gustavsson took a provisional squad of 29 into a final training camp on the Gold Coast last week before he trims it to 23, saying they’ve been given “the platform to be as best prepared for the tournament of a lifetime.”

Kerr, Australia’s captain and all-time leading international scorer with 63 goals, is primed after helping Chelsea clinch a fourth consecutive Women’s Super League title and third straight FA Cup.

The 29-year-old striker is the undisputed star in an Australian squad brimming with experienced professionals from the world’s biggest leagues.

Defender Steph Catley and forward Caitlin Foord are at Arsenal, 20-year-old forward Mary Fowler and veteran defender Alanna Kennedy play for Manchester City, and goalkeepers Lydia Williams (Brighton) and Mackenzie Arnold (West Ham) also play in the WSL. The likes of Clare Polkinghorne, with 156 international appearances, and Katrina Gorry play in Sweden and seasoned midfielder Emily van Egmond, with 127 appearances for Australia, plays for the San Diego Wave in the United States.

Gustavsson had to tread a fine line between resting star players so they will be fresh for the World Cup, ensuring young players were getting enough time around the national squad and making sure the results were still OK.

After a turbulent run, including a second-string lineup’s 7-0 loss to Spain last year that generated plenty of angst among critics, Australia went undefeated in the Cup of Nations in February, beating Jamaica, Spain and the Czech Republic. The Matildas then produced a win in April over European champion England, which was coming off a narrow win over Brazil in the Finalissima.

Following the win in London, Gustavsson said it was important to stay grounded but he noted: “We know that on any given day we might not have the best team but we can beat the best team and that’s what is needed in tournaments.”

Catley, the Matildas vice-captain, said the last 12-18 months had created unprecedented depth for Australia's squad.

“On the back of us caring so much about this team (and) knowing the significance of it being a home World Cup, it’s pretty exciting to think of what we can achieve,” Catley said. “Doing well in a home tournament has the power to change women’s football for a whole nation.”

The Matildas have been in high demand, have featured in a streaming series, and their images are everywhere in World Cup promotions.

For Moya Dodd, who was one of the most prominent women in soccer while on the FIFA executive committee from 2013-17 and who helped bring the Women's World Cup to Australia and New Zealand, the huge growth in the Matildas' public profile represents a major societal shift.

Dodd had to pay her own way and take unpaid leave from her full-time job to represent Australia at the first FIFA women’s tournament in 1988.

“Many others lost pay, or lost jobs, for playing for Australia. Things have changed so much since then and I’m just thrilled for this generation of players,” Dodd said. “The players now are conscious of how far it’s come, and they’ve been very much involved in their own struggles to bring it from semi-professionalism to professionalism ... they’re on the frontier.”

Kerr is right out there, already one of the greats. She said ending England's 30-game unbeaten run in April had given the Matildas extra confidence, but she cautioned there was a long way to go.

“We’re not at our best right now," Kerr said, “but that’s what we’ve been planning for the last four years, to be at our best in (the World Cup).”

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