Australia have been tight-lipped about star striker Sam Kerr’s situation this week, but team officials were ruled out of the first two World Cup games last week. calf injury.
Australian officials said at the time that Kerr’s injury would be reassessed after Thursday’s group stage second leg, in which they were hopeful of her return to the field.
But one of Kerr’s teammates, 21-year-old midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross, caused a stir on Monday when he told reporters at camp in Australia that Kerr was suffering from a torn calf. This is a far more serious injury that will almost certainly keep Kerr out of the tournament.
“It’s a shame Sam tore his calf before the game,” Cooneycross told reporters. “But as a team, I think we’re just focused on Nigeria. Sam is doing his part to get back as soon as possible, but that’s also important.”
Team officials immediately tried to retract Cooney Cross’s statement. A team spokesperson said in a text message that Cooney Cross made a gaffe using “inaccurate language for a young player” and “colloquial rather than medical terms”. In a separate message, federation officials said the allegation that Kerr had a torn muscle was “inaccurate” and said the original diagnosis – a mild calf strain – was still affected.
Australia beat Ireland 1-0 in their opening game, but Kerr’s loss could be devastating to their hopes of reaching the top of the competition at home.
Germany will begin their World Cup campaign on Monday with the same goal as always: a clean sweep. Germany, who have won twice and failed to reach at least the quarter-finals, drew in a favorable group with Morocco, Colombia and South Korea this year. So they have a good chance of making it to the Top 8 again, but the goal is set even higher.
Brazil is another top competitor entering the field. The team is better known for his one player, Marta, than for the strength of its members as a whole. But Brazil, under former US manager Pia Sundage, could face a tougher game than usual.
Germany v Morocco
Germany won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007, has eight European Championships and a Rio 2016 Olympic gold medal in their trophy case. But the last few months have been rocky, with losses to England in last year’s European Championship final, defeats to Brazil and Zambia, and a narrow win over Vietnam in June’s friendly.
Morocco, by contrast, is one of eight newcomers. With that qualification, the team gained new fans in their home country. But reaching tournaments is another thing. Beating Germany in it is something else entirely.
Italy vs Argentina
Italy reached the quarter-finals of the last World Cup, performing solidly after being out of the competition for 20 years. But after failing to reach the knockout stages of last year’s European Championship, the team began a generational shift, with manager Milena Bertolini laying off many veterans to make way for new talent.
Julia Dragoni, 16-year-old midfielder Some call him Little Messi, He just made his debut in a goalless draw against Morocco earlier this month. She will start against Argentina and could be the face of the Italian team in her near future.
“I expect nothing,” Dragoni said this week. “I’m too young and I’m here to learn and gain experience, so I can’t do that.”
Argentina have never made it past the group stage, failed to win a World Cup and have scored just five goals in three tournaments. However, the Argentina national team won four of their five friendly matches and went into the opening match in excellent form.
brazil vs panama
all eyes are in malta. The Brazilian legend is in his sixth World Cup at the age of 37 and hopes to win the title he has yet to win. Marta is considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the game, but he often carries the weight of the national team alone.
The last time a Brazilian came close to winning the tournament was almost a generation ago, when they lost to Germany in the 2007 final. While this year’s team isn’t considered as strong as previous teams, Sundage has a respected coach with an illustrious resume.
Brazil’s first opponent is Panama, another World Cup debutant and the last country to qualify for the tournament. Panama has its own Maltese. Marta Cox is a 26-year-old midfielder who scored from a bicycle kick in Panama’s World Cup qualifier against Paraguay.
Colombia vs South Korea
Colombia had a good run in the Copa America Championship, beating Argentina in the semi-finals but losing 1-0 to Brazil in the final. These results suggest that they are ready to fight on the world stage.But that competitiveness may have gone too far in the recent friendly against Ireland: that game Canceled after 20 minutes for what the Irish called the Colombian’s “overly physical” play. Columbia rejected that characterization and defended its style. The Irish simply “preferred not to continue playing”.
Colombia will face 2022 Asian Cup runners-up South Korea. South Koreans have advanced to the knockout stages once in the last three times they have participated in the 2015 World Cup. Four years ago, the Korean team lost all three games.
Morocco, one of eight first-time qualifiers to the Women’s World Cup, could be out of luck playing in a group that includes former champions (Germany), Asia’s regulars (South Korea) and South America’s second-placed team (Colombia).
But the fact that Morocco is in the tournament, which opened in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, and that there is a Moroccan women’s team, has been a source of inspiration and visible pride both at home and abroad.
Morocco have qualified for the Women’s World Cup for the first time from North Africa and the first from an Arab-majority country. Yet the team was largely unknown, even to most Moroccans, until last July when it hosted an event at home that doubled as a continental qualifier for the World Cup.But as they go from win to win, stadiums in this country started to fill up with fansFor many of them, it will be their first time seeing the team play.
In a country where soccer is revered, interest in the women’s game is a new phenomenon, and its success has made the team more popular. “They showed us that they can fill stadiums and make Moroccans happy,” said French coach Reinaldo Pedros. “They’ve done it on the African stage. We now want to do the same on the international stage.”
