Kerr was available to play if needed,but would have risked further injury had she taken to the field.Tony Gustavsson revealed post-match that the team was partly inspired to win the match without her so she could have another full week to recuperate.
Now to be able to potentially throw her into an attack that is once again firing on all cylinders - be it off the bench or from the start against world No.13 Denmark,who the Matildas beat 3-1 the last time they met - is a mouth-watering prospect.
Mackenzie Arnold speaks to the media in Brisbane.Credit:Getty
“I think the world has now seen what we can do,” Arnold said.
“Obviously,we always want Sam on the field - she’s a world-class striker. But I think we’ve shown now that we have the depth,and we can play any combination up front,that we can still score goals.
“If she plays,she plays. If she doesn’t,she doesn’t. We have our plan.”
It is not only on the field where Kerr’s influence has scaled back. Kerr is usually in charge of the Matildas’ training playlist,Arnold said,but on Thursday that responsibility fell to strength and conditioning assistant Georgia Brown - and her opening gambit,Shania Twain’sMan I Feel Like a Woman,set the tone for a light-hearted and jovial session,reflecting a positive mood within the team despite all the pressures of a home World Cup.
“We just told her to put on some tunes,and that was what she came out with,so thankfully it was a banger - otherwise it could have been a little bit embarrassing for her,” Arnold joked.
“We try not take ourselves too seriously - but tomorrow,it’ll be a lot more serious,and we’ll start focusing on Denmark.”
The only absentee at training was Kyah Simon,who is towards the tail end of her rehab from an ACL injury and is earmarked for minutes off the bench later in the knockout phase,presuming the Matildas first progress past Denmark.
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The team will shift operations from Brisbane to Sydney late on Friday ahead of a return to Stadium Australia,where another 75,000-strong crowd awaits.
“I think we’ve experienced a bit of everything this World Cup - obviously the massive crowd[against Ireland],then the disappointing loss against Nigeria,and then obviously the feelings that we had against Canada,” Arnold said.
“Whatever comes on Monday night,we’re going to be ready for it. If we end up selling out the stadium again,that’ll be unreal.”
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