Norway vs Australia: Can Matildas continue great run?
Australia will look to book their spot in the quarter-finals for the fourth straight World Cup as they take on Norway in the round of 16 on Saturday.
The Matildas have never gone beyond the quarter-finals stage, but this team, who are currently under the guidance of Ante Milicic, will be hoping to clear that hurdle in France this summer. They came in a very impressive second spot in their group, ahead of Brazil, and now will lock horns with the second-best team from Group A, Norway.
Although Australia were disappointed to end up empty-handed against Italy after a 1-0 lead turned into a 2-1 defeat, the Matildas have a lot to be proud of this far. Namely, their impressive turnaround against Brazil to earn a 3-2 win over Marta’s team after the Brazilians were coasting along 2-0 up was arguably what gave them the confidence they needed ahead of their must-win clash against debutants Jamaica.
Sam Kerr was the star of the day as she became only the third player to net a poker in a Women’s World Cup match, rendering Jamaica’s goal nothing but a historic consolation. Having already beaten Brazil, they will certainly be confident ahead of their showdown with Norway, but surely the Grasshoppers won’t make it easy.
Although the Scandinavian side don’t have star striker Ada Hegerberg in their ranks, they do have promising talents like Guro Reiten and Caroline Graham Hansen, both of whom play in the middle of the park. Norway have been hardly the most inspiring side of this tournament, with two of their six goals via penalties, and two more via own-goals – meaning that only two were netted from live play by Norway’s players. Nonetheless, they are through to the round of 16, and it really doesn’t matter ultimately how one gets there in the end.
They don’t boast Australia’s attacking flair, but sometimes it’s defenses that win games. Just look at the case of Greece at the 2004 EURO tournament. At times, their play could put one to sleep, but the formula worked and they ended up winning the title. Norway, however, are not anywhere as dull as Greece were as they did beat Nigeria 3-0, with all of their goals coming in the first half. But the fact that in the second they were content to take the foot off the gas and hunker down rather than keep coming for more like the Americans did against Thailand was somewhat disappointing, and they did concede a goal against South Korea to set up a somewhat nervy finish.
So, who will triumph in Saturday’s much-anticipated showdown? Australia’s strong attack or Norway’s stubborn defense?
