Australia is through to the quarter-finals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Sweden in its final group match in Edmonton.
Lisa De Vanna’s fifth-minute opener was cancelled out by Sofia Jakobsson’s low strike 10 minutes later, however the draw was enough for the Matildas to secure second spot in the group.
The Matildas’ blistering start saw them rewarded with an early goal through co-captain De Vanna. Laura Alleway’s beautifully weighted pass out from the defence allowed the striker to beat the offside trap and slot the ball past Sweden’s Hedvig Lindahl.
Sweden was not out of the contest for long, finding the back of the net in the 15th minute. Jakobssen was allowed plenty of space to run down the right-hand flank, before cutting into the box and placing her low shot between a diving Lydia Williams and the near post.
An incredibly tight contest ensued, with both teams having spells of possession but neither side was able to find that killer goal.
The win for Australia sets up a quarter-final clash with Brazil on Monday morning while Sweden may not have played its last game of this World Cup. A match-up with Canada or Germany could await the fifth-ranked team in the world, if results from other groups go its way, and it finishes among the four best third-placed teams.
Lisa De Vanna is a superstar
Lisa De Vanna has put in three brilliant performances in the three group matches of this year’s World Cup. She was the lone scorer for the Matildas in the game against the USA, set up Kyah Simon for her first goal against Nigeria and was again on the scoresheet today.
The passion De Vanna has for this team is infectious and her leadership is crucial to the Matildas’ success. Furthermore, she has played an integral part in Australia’s progression through to the knockout stages of the tournament all whilst being injured.
A knock to her ankle, picked up in the first match against the US, has seen her play these matches with the help of pain killing medication and injections. De Vanna has been a truly inspirational leader for this group of girls.
Sweden’s set piece setup was outstanding
Australia was always going to have difficulty trying to defend Sweden from set pieces, particularly corners. Not only do the Swedes have some incredible height to aim for, the way in which they set up in the box for corners left the Matildas looking vulnerable for the best part of an hour.
Three to four players would line up behind each other towards the edge of the 18-yard box, waiting for the corner to come in. This made both man marking and zonal marking near impossible. Consequently, a lot of Sweden’s best chances came from set pieces.
Attacking intent
With everything to play for, these sides were always going to come out attacking. The Matildas’ start was blistering and they were able to not only test the Swedish defence but score against them in the opening minutes of the match.
Sweden then dominated possession and created multiple quality chances, resulting in its equaliser. However, with the game level, the two teams seemed to attack at different levels of intensity.
Although the Matildas only needed a draw to qualify, they continued to press forward. Alen Stajcic signalled that his side was playing for all three points with Michelle Heyman and Larissa Crummer, two strikers, being brought on.
Sweden, on the other hand, was not as direct in its substitutions, bringing on Kosovare Asllani and Sara Thunebro, a midfielder and defender respectively. While the Swedes began to attack with some urgency in the final five or so minutes of the match, for what was at stake, a more ferocious attack was to be expected.
The Matildas are continuously improving
Over the course of these three matches, the improvements in the overall performance of the Australians has been excellent. The opening match saw plenty of intensity and pressure but this could not be sustained for the full 90 minutes, nor could the team finish as clinically as it would have liked. Against both Nigeria and Sweden, the Matildas were able to find the back of the net, utilise their chances and defend well for longer periods of time.
The Matildas have grown in confidence with every passing game and their maturity and patience in defence, their doggedness in midfield and the clinical and ferocious nature of their attack makes them a real contender to progress through the knockout stages of this tournament.
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