Australia reaches Women’s World Cup quarterfinals with win over Denmark as Sam Kerr makes tournament debut

By Ben Morse and Tara Subramaniam, CNN

(CNN) — Roared on by the majority of the 75,784 crowd inside Sydney’s Stadium Australia, co-host Australia reached the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals after an impressive 2-0 victory over Denmark in Sydney.

And Matildas fans had even more reason to celebrate as star striker Sam Kerr, who had missed Australia’s group games due to a calf injury, came on as second-half substitute to make her first appearance at the World Cup.

“Just relief, honestly, it’s been a long three weeks, but yeah, it’s amazing,” Kerr told reporters after making her comeback.

However, Kerr also added that she was not happy with the attention that surrounded her injury – which included a helicopter flying over the Matildas’ training ground.

“I felt a little bit disrespected because it’s not about me, it’s about the team and they’re preparing for a World Cup,” she said.

“At the end of the day, we’ve been really transparent. I was not training that day […] so yeah, I felt that was actually a little bit disrespectful.

“Now, I’m just back out on the pitch and I feel like it’s time to crack on now.”

A superb counterattacking move from Australia gave the host the lead, with Mary Fowler springing Caitlin Foord free down the left. The 28-year-old’s low shot was too good for Denmark goalkeeper Lene Christensen.

Try as it might, Denmark was unable to find an equalizer as it struggled to get back into the game and Australia doubled its lead when Hayley Raso guided the ball home into the bottom corner of the net midway through the second half.

Australia now faces either France or Morocco on Saturday in the last eight of the tournament.

With a spot in the quarterfinals on the line, Australia and Denmark began their last-16 clash in furious fashion, with both moving the ball slickly as they created half-chances to score.

Both had openings to break the deadlock, but it was the co-host who eventually took the lead midway through the first half.

With Denmark on the attack, the ball broke to 20-year-old Fowler who played a sumptuous ball to allow Foord to run through and rifle the ball under Christensen to send the partisan crowd wild.

Denmark came roaring back though, putting the Australian defense under pressure, with captain Pernille Harder at the forefront of most of its good attacking work. But the Matildas remained a constant threat on the break, with Foord coming close to getting her second of the game minutes before halftime.

One of the biggest cheers of the game came midway through the second half when cameras showed Kerr, the team’s captain and all-time goalscorer, warming up on the sidelines.

Try as Denmark may, it was Australia who got the next goal to effectively book its spot in the quarterfinals.

It came through another counterattack as Australia took advantage of Danish pressure, with Emily van Egmond setting up Raso to blast home her second goal in as many Women’s World Cup games.

Kerr did make her tournament debut in the 80th minute, receiving a hero’s welcome as she was substituted on for Raso.

Australia fans would have had their hearts in their mouths just minutes after Kerr came on when she crumpled in an awkward-looking heap with no opposition player in her vicinity. Luckily though, Kerr seemed to be able to run off any problems and was seen joking about it after the game.

Through a combination of dogged defending, slight Danish miscues and willpower from the home fans, Australia was able to hold onto its lead.

“We’re feeling really, really happy, really positive,” Australian defender Clare Hunt told CNN after the victory.

“I think the Sydney crowd was louder tonight than they were on our initial appearance here at Stadium Australia,” Hunt added. “I think we’re building momentum as a team and as a support system in Australia.”

The Matildas have never made it past the quarterfinals stage of a Women’s World Cup but, on home soil, will be looking to go even further.

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