BRISBANE, Australia: Captain Sam Kerr declared herself available for Australia’s must-win clash with Olympic champions Canada today (Saturday) in a major boost for the Women’s World Cup co-hosts.
It came as European champions England sweated on the fitness of key midfielder Keira Walsh after she was stretchered off in their win over Denmark with what looked like a serious knee injury.
Prolific Chelsea striker Kerr, the face of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, suffered a calf injury on the eve of the tournament and missed the Matildas’ first two games.
The Australians, who were one of the favourites to win the title, squeezed past Ireland 1-0 thanks to a penalty to open their campaign but were then stunned 3-2 by Nigeria.
That left their World Cup in serious peril and underlined just how much they missed their talismanic goal scorer.
With the critical encounter against Canada looming on Monday, the 29-year-old fronted the media in Brisbane to say: “I am going to be there, I am going to be ready.”
But Kerr declined to say how much of a part she will play in the clash in Melbourne.
“I would love to tell you guys everything but you know being in sport a long time that that’s a massive thing that the opposition wants to know,” Kerr said.
“It is going to go down to the wire. I am definitely going to be available but how we decide to use that is not to be given to the opposition.” —AFP/APP
