England boss Sarina Wiegman believes simply nullifying the threat posed by Australia striker Sam Kerr will not be enough to see the Lionesses through to a first-ever World Cup final.
The European champions take on the Matildas in their semi-final tonight at 11 am BST at Sydney’s sold-out Stadium Australia, where the majority of the 75,000 in attendance will be backing the co-hosts.
Captain Kerr is her country’s leading goal-scorer of either gender, but has not yet started a match in the global showpiece after injuring her calf pre-tournament, making her much-anticipated return as a substitute in Australia’s 2-0 last-16 victory over Denmark.
Though the Chelsea forward is, at least in Australia, the poster-woman for this tournament, Wiegman insisted: “Australia is not just Sam Kerr. Yes, we have a plan [if she starts]. She can play and she can start on the bench, so that’s the situation. Of course she is a threat, she’s a very good player, so a lot of respect [to her].
“But there is more than Sam Kerr, because at the end it is always a team performance. When the team does really well an individual can do even better. That’s the same for Australia and it’s the same for England.
“There is a lot of pressure on her because everyone expects things from her. I think Australia have grown in the tournament too, they had some difficult situations they had to come back from and they did really well. We expect a very strong Australia tomorrow.”
The winner of Wednesday night’s contest will take on Spain for the trophy, after they beat Sweden 2-1 on Tuesday to book their trip to the final.
Kerr’s calf was arguably the most talked-about calf in Australian history when it was announced she would miss the first two matches of the Matildas’ World Cup campaign, and speculation has swirled about her fitness ever since.
The 29-year-old declared she would be available for Australia’s final group stage contest against Canada but remained on the bench, before appearing to a raucous reception for the first time in the 80th minute against Denmark.
She featured more in her side’s quarter-final against France, coming on for Emily van Egmond in the 55th minute and scoring one of the penalties that would see Australia win a 7-6 shootout and advance to the final four for the first time.
England captain Millie Bright, Kerr’s club team-mate at Women’s Super League champions Chelsea, echoed her manager’s assessment, adding: “I think everyone knows [Sam] pretty well. On the worldwide stage, I think she’s made a name for herself.
“It’s pretty hard not to know Sam and her abilities, but like Sarina said there’s other players in the team. I think we’re prepared to play against Australia as a team.”
Those other players have stepped up considerably in their skipper’s absence. Mary Fowler and Hayley Raso – who has netted three times this tournament – are emerging alongside Kerr as new household names Down Under.
It remains to be seen if Kerr will make her first World Cup start against England, or if Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson will once again use her as a talismanic threat off the bench – either way, Wiegman insists England have a plan.
Gustavsson perhaps hinted at the latter in his press conference on the eve of their historic encounter, where one side will become a World Cup finalist for the first time,
The Swedish boss said: “We’ll look at all of this trying to start as strong as possible, but finish even stronger. Meaning, what kind of starting line-up do we want to have, what finishing 11 do we want to have?
“What kind of tools and game-changing do we think we need in a game like this? Type of players, whether it’s speed or aerial presence. There will be some tough decisions to be made because a lot of players deserve to start, but a lot of players also deserve to finish the game and win it for us.”
Martino 'won't take risks' but expects Messi to play this weekend
Gerardo Martino is expecting Lionel Messi to play for Inter Miami at home to D.C. United this weekend, though he emphasised he would not take "any risks".
Messi was absent as Miami were held to a 0-0 draw away at Orlando City last time out with what Martino described as a "bit of a niggle".
The goalless draw, combined with FC Cincinnati's win over Atlanta United, means Miami's lead at the top of the Eastern Conference has been closed to just a point ahead of this weekend's fixtures.
As Miami look to get back to winning ways this weekend, Martino believes Messi will be able to return, though he will not rush the former Barcelona man back onto the field.
"The fact is that he felt some pain in his movements and, given that we're on a run of three games in the space of a week, we felt the most sensible thing to do was leave him out of today's game," Martino told reporters.
"The plan is that he'll play on Saturday, but it’s going to depend on how he progresses. We’re not going to take any risks, and on Thursday and Friday we'll assess his fitness."
D.C. were handed a first loss in four as they were thumped 4-1 by the New York Red Bulls in midweek, but head coach Troy Lesesne believes the defeat does not cancel out the previous solid form displayed by his side.
"For the last three weeks, we can feel good about our performance, and tonight doesn’t just erase all that," Lesesne said.
“We're building still. We can recognise tonight was a setback.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Inter Miami – Luis Suarez
With Messi absent against Orlando, Suarez couldn't make it four straight games with a goal as he drew a blank. With Messi potentially missing again on Saturday, Suarez will be keen to get back among the goals to help his team to victory.
D.C. United – Christian Benteke
Benteke was held scoreless against the Red Bulls despite taking six shots in the match. It was Benteke’s third MLS match this season with at least six shots with all other D.C. players having combined to do that once in league play in 2024 (Gabriel Pirani). The former Liverpool man certainly isn't afraid of pulling the trigger, though he will be hoping this time to find the back of the net with one or more of his efforts at goal.
MATCH PREDICTION – MIAMI WIN
D.C. are unbeaten in three all-time matches at Miami. D.C. are the only opponent that have visited Miami more than once in regular season play and never lost.
Miami’s five-game winning streak ended Wednesday with a 0-0 draw with Orlando. Miami had exactly seven shots for the second straight match, the club’s first time having consecutive MLS matches with single-digit shots since May-June 2023.
In Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Red Bulls, D.C. attempted 22 shots while allowing 11. The plus-11 shot differential was United’s highest in a loss by three or more goals since a 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew in April 2013 (+14).
In 2024, Miami have one win in their five MLS matches (two draws, two defeats) without Messi and seven victories in their nine games with him. The team’s goals per game average in MLS matches this season is 3.2 with Messi, and 1.2 without him.
Messi is clearly Miami's star man, then, and with him looking likely to feature this weekend, the hosts will be the favourites to return to winning ways at the top of the Eastern Conference.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Inter Miami - 50.8%
D.C United - 22.9%
Draw - 26.3%
Almeria 0-2 Barcelona: Fermin at the double in easy Blaugrana win
Barcelona remained on track to finish second in LaLiga after Fermin Lopez's brace sealed a 2-0 win over bottom side Almeria on Thursday.
Fermin gave Barca an early lead in the 14th minute when he headed past goalkeeper Luis Maximiano from Hector Fort's accurate cross.
Despite efforts from Cesar Montes and Lucas Robertone, Almeria were unable to find an equaliser.
Fermin netted his second from Sergi Roberto's cross to wrap up the win for Barca in the 67th minute.
Xavi's side are on 79 points, four clear of Catalan rivals Girona, whose hopes of finishing second are fading fast after Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Villarreal.
Real Madrid, who have already clinched the title, continue to pull away from Barca after a 5-0 win over Alaves on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Holding the Fort
Fort provided the assist for Barca's opener, his second assist of the campaign in LaLiga.
Three players aged under 20 have provided an assist in LaLiga for the Blaugrana this term – Lamine Yamal (four), Fort (two) and Gavi (one). That is not a statistic matched by any other team in Europe's top five leagues.
Charlotte FC v LA Galaxy: Smith looking to build on 'untidy' win over Fire
Dean Smith is looking for his Charlotte FC side to build upon their 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire when they host the LA Galaxy this weekend.
Charlotte made it three wins in a row as they narrowly beat the Fire during midweek thanks to Ashley Westwood's 60th-minute winner.
The three-match win streak has taken Charlotte all the way up to fifth in the Eastern Conference, and though Smith was not enthralled by the manner of the victory over Chicago, he appreciated his side's mindset.
"I saw the mentality, but I didn’t see a game of football that I liked. It certainly won’t make the highlight reel," Smith told reporters.
"It wasn't a thriller of any sort. It was an untidy game from both teams but we showed real good mentality to limit them to few chances, and we took the one we had from a set piece."
The Galaxy, meanwhile, drew 2-2 at Minnesota United on Wednesday, leaving them fifth in the Western Conference and four points off leaders Real Salt Lake.
Minnesota equalised with just 10 minutes to play, but Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney still thought it was a solid point for his side.
"We've got to try to take this point and start to heal and start to recover and move on to the next one," Vanney said.
"[It is a] good, hard-earned point at the end of the day even though there was a chance for us to get three there at the tail end."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Charlotte FC – Ashley Westwood
Westwood scored the lone goal in Charlotte’s win over Chicago on Wednesday at the hour mark. Nine of Charlotte's 11 goals since March 23 have been scored after half-time, and Westwood will be hoping to spur his side on once more this Saturday by finding the net again.
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig assisted both of the Galaxy's goals against Minnesota on Wednesday after also recording assists on both Galaxy goals on Saturday against Salt Lake. Puig is the first Galaxy player to record multiple assists in consecutive matches since Romain Alessandrini in 2018, and he will hope to make it three such games in a row this weekend.
MATCH PREDICTION – CHARLOTTE WIN
Charlotte and the Galaxy have each recorded a 1-0 away win against the other. Both goals were scored after the 70th minute.
The Galaxy have drawn each of their last three matches with the last two ending 2-2. In their last 22 matches, the Galaxy have scored two or more goals 15 times and allowed two or more goals 17 times.
Charlotte have won three straight matches, keeping clean sheets in all three. This is the first time Charlotte have kept clean sheets in three straight matches in club history, and with home advantage this weekend, they look the favourites to pick up the three points on Saturday.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Charlotte: 47.3%
Galaxy: 25.8%
Draw: 26.9%
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