{"id":322278,"date":"2023-08-08T21:45:13","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T21:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=322278"},"modified":"2023-08-08T21:59:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T21:59:00","slug":"kerr-lifts-lid-on-amazing-mantra-behind-world-cup-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=322278","title":{"rendered":"Kerr lifts lid on 'amazing' mantra behind World Cup push"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Matildas<\/a> are riding the wave of this FIFA Women's World Cup<\/a> \u2014 propelled by the never say die attitude entrenched in the fabric of the team long before coach Tony Gustavsson's tenure.<\/p>\n

But before a two-year \ufeffpurple patch preparing for this historic home tournament, the team navigated stretches of turbulence and disappointment.<\/p>\n

Nobody knows the team's trajectory better than a select group of Matildas born around 1993 and '94.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> World Cup star praised for fiery act towards TV camera<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> RLPA 'stunt' labelled 'hostage video' as ugly dispute lingers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Foster's warning to Matildas as World Cup epic awaits<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Mackenzie Arnold, Steph Catley, Alanna Kennedy, Katrina Gorry, Emily van Egmond, Caitlin Foord, Sam Kerr<\/a> and Hayley Raso were all born within a year of each other and debuted for the national team as teenagers in the early 2010s.<\/p>\n

\"Matildas<\/p>\n

Having been announced on the international stage at an age where you're \ufeffincredibly vulnerable and still trying to discover your self-identity, these girls have grown up together.<\/p>\n

Fast forward 10-odd years and more than 1400 Australian caps between the group of them, the mainstays of the Matildas have arrived at the prime of their careers at this World Cup.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In particular, Kerr, van Egmond and Foord have formed a \ufeffclose relationship that goes "back \ufeffa long time" to the junior Matildas program.<\/p>\n

After returning from a calf injury to chalk up her first minutes<\/a> at this World Cup,\ufeff Kerr reflected on how her familiars have flourished during Australia's campaign.<\/p>\n

"It's been amazing to kind of sit back and watch just how much all of these players that I grew up with have grown into their own. They're all superstars and they're amazing," she told media post-match.<\/p>\n

When playing for their country, Kerr and Foord normally play in a more central forward position but in Kerr's absence, Foord \ufeffhas partnered with Arsenal teammate Catley to great success.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Cu-2rkpv46v\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp<\/a><\/p>\n

Named player of the match in the Matildas' round of 16 win over Denmark<\/a>, \ufeffFoord tormented the Danish defence with her speed and skill to score Australia's opening goal.<\/p>\n

Returning from a back injury, van Egmond\ufeff has also provided a welcome boost for Australia's midfield.<\/p>\n

Replacing Mary Fowler in the Matildas' starting line-up against Nigeria<\/a>, van Egmond scored from a superb cutback (assisted by Foord) in the first half and was neat and composed when in possession.<\/p>\n

\"Caitlin<\/p>\n

This performance cemented her place in Australia's starting XI for the team's ensuing matches against Canada and Denmark.<\/p>\n

Known for her pinpoint passes, van Egmond did just that in the second half of Australia's win over Denmark to set up Raso for the Matildas' second goal.<\/p>\n

\"Raso<\/p>\n

Asked about the impact the outcome of this tournament could have on the legacies of the ageing so-called "golden generation", van Egmond returned to the hang-tough mentality this group of players has helped embed.<\/p>\n

"We all know exactly what's at stake \ufeffbut at the end of the day, we as players, we don't want to put too much pressure on ourselves. At the end of the day it's just another game of football," she said ahead of Australia's crunch clash against Nigeria in the group stage.<\/p>\n

"The uniqueness \ufeffand the characters of this team, that's exactly how they will be thinking about it. So, when the game starts, you'll see a lot of passion, you'll see a lot of heart, you'll see the want to win within this Matildas team because … that's our never say die attitude."<\/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":"

The Matildas are riding the wave of this FIFA Women's World Cup \u2014 propelled by the never say die attitude entrenched in the fabric of […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":322280,"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\/322278"}],"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=322278"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322283,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322278\/revisions\/322283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/322280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=322278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=322278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=322278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}