{"id":317109,"date":"2023-07-18T21:21:45","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T21:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=317109"},"modified":"2023-07-19T00:01:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T00:01:28","slug":"matildas-underdog-rivals-ready-for-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=317109","title":{"rendered":"Matildas' 'underdog' rivals ready for fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overwhelming demand for tickets meant the Matildas<\/a>' opening match at the FIFA Women's World Cup<\/a> had to be shifted to Stadium Australia – the tournament's biggest stadium.<\/p>\n

The match is set to be played in front of an expected record crowd of 82,500.<\/p>\n

Stepping into that cauldron to face the Matildas on Thursday night is Ireland, on debut at the World Cup and playing in its first major global tournament.<\/p>\n

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"We feel like underdogs and we embrace it," Ireland forward Marissa Sheva said. "I think it gives us a little bit of energy and we know the pressure is not on us, it's on them for this game."<\/p>\n

\"Katie<\/p>\n

The game was initially scheduled to be played at the Sydney Football Stadium but was \ufeffmoved back in January. Stadium Australia will also host the final on August 20.<\/p>\n

"Ever since they moved stadiums we knew that it was going to be a massive crowd," Sheva said. "Having the opening game of the tournament against the hosts is an incredible opportunity."<\/p>\n

The Matildas beat France 1-0 in a friendly played in front of a record 50,629 fans in Melbourne last week.<\/p>\n

The previous record crowd for a Matildas match in Australia was 36,109, set in November 2021 in a loss to the United States at Stadium Australia.<\/p>\n

\"BRISBANE,<\/p>\n

Ireland manager Vera Pauw recognizes the challenge for her squad, but she is emphasizing the importance of her team sticking to its game plan.<\/p>\n

"Of course it's not an ordinary game, but we have to bring it back to the tasks of the game," Pauw said. "At the end of the day, it's the same pitch dimensions as we have back home."<\/p>\n

Pauw's squad upset Australia 3-2 in a friendly in Dublin in 2021 in the only previous meeting between the teams at the senior level. Louise Quinn, a starting defender on Ireland's World Cup roster, scored the winning goal on a second-half header.<\/p>\n

"I think we've shown that we are capable of competing with the top teams in the world, so this should be no exception," Sheva said.<\/p>\n

\"Matildas<\/p>\n

In April, Ireland played two friendlies against the US team, losing 2-0 in Austin and 1-0 in St. Louis, to the back-to-back defending Women's World Cup champions. The US enters this World Cup as the top-ranked team and the tournament favorite.<\/p>\n

The Irish hosted fifth-ranked France in a friendly earlier this month, keeping the game scoreless for nearly a half before losing 3-0.<\/p>\n

"We prepared by playing the best, so we're ready to do that here," Sheva said. "We know that Australia is world-class so we're going to get their best game."<\/p>\n

Australia is 10th in FIFA's rankings, and fans in the host country are confident the Matildas will advance to the knockout stages.<\/p>\n

"We're ready and confident to give them a game," Sheva said. "They're in good form, but so are we."<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Overwhelming demand for tickets meant the Matildas' opening match at the FIFA Women's World Cup had to be shifted to Stadium Australia – the tournament's […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":317111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317109"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=317109"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":317114,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317109\/revisions\/317114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/317111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=317109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=317109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=317109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}