Add Category
Posted
After scoring a breakthrough World Cup goal against Italy in the Matildas' first game of the 2019 Women's World Cup, Sam Kerr made a familiar beeline for the corner flag.
It's a path well travelled by one of Australian soccer's greats, and it was in tribute to Tim Cahill that she proceeded to shadowbox the flag.
Speaking after her record-breaking four-goal haul against Brazil, Kerr revealed she had followed Cahill growing up, and credited her knack for finding the back of the net with being "gifted" as well as a lot of practice.
Cahill, meanwhile, posted an artist's impression of the two Australians boxing the flag, sending "big love" to Kerr and crediting her for "laying down the foundations for the next generation".
It was a great example of camaraderie between two of Australia's sporting heroes, with Cahill using his significant platform to ensure the spotlight remains firmly on the women's game.
Is Kerr to the Matildas what Cahill was to the Socceroos?
Kerr's celebration and scoring prowess — particularly her aerial skill — have led to predictable comparisons with the man many would credit as the best Socceroo to play for Australia. These invariably invite the question: Is Kerr to the Matildas as Cahill was to the Socceroos?
First, a word of warning.
Comparing the stars of the women's game to men is inevitably fraught, given they are champions who stand firmly on their own two feet.
You need only to look as far as Brazil's Marta who, in scoring against Italy in the final match of the group stages, took her career tally to 17 World Cup goals — the most ever scored by a man or woman at the World Cup.
Her tally surpasses even the most revered footballing names in Cristiano Ronaldo (15) and Miroslav Klose (16).
Asking if Kerr is to the Matildas as Cahill is to the Socceroos, moreover, is to ask after their importance to their respective teams, rather than to rank their comparative skill.
Nonetheless, figures crunched by Andrew Howe — statistician and co-author of the Encyclopedia of Matildas — suggest there is some merit in highlighting Kerr and Cahill's contributions to sport and country at comparative stages in their careers.
This is Kerr's third World Cup (having debuted on the international stage at 15 and the World Cup at 17) and her four-goal haul against Brazil makes her the only Australian to have scored a hat-trick — let alone four — at a senior World Cup.
It takes her overall World Cup goal tally to five — the same total Cahill scored over four World Cups for the Socceroos.
Many will argue that Cahill's heroics were in achieving qualification for the Socceroos rather than at the World Cup itself, but Kerr's record holds up here too.
She has now scored 36 goals in 80 appearances for her country, while in 80 appearances with the Socceroos Cahill managed a strikingly similar 38. By that stage, Cahill was aged 35, while Kerr is still just 25.
It's on the domestic stage, however, that Kerr's star has shone brightest. She now boasts 135 goals in 200 league appearances including with current clubs the Chicago Red Stars and Perth Glory.
At the same age (25), Cahill had played 50 more games for 63 goals while his career ended with 152 goals from 608 appearances.
Incredibly, Kerr is currently the all-time leading goal scorer in the highly-competitive US league — the NWSL — as well as the W-League in Australia.
Is Australia too reliant on Kerr?
Clearly, no comparisons are needed when it comes to highlighting the 25-year-old's individual brilliance.
Further, she has so far shown no signs that the captaincy is a burden on her scoring after being named skipper by incoming coach Ante Milicic in February.
It does beg the question, however, of what role she must play if Australia is to defeat Norway in the knockout stages of France 2019.
Against Brazil, Kerr was held scoreless, but she played a critical role in most of Australia's scoring chances.
It was her pressure on the Brazilian goalkeeper which almost led to a penalty to Tameka Yallop (if not for a handball) and her touch on goal that opened up the play for Caitlin Foord to score at the end of the first half, while Chloe Logarzo looked to be searching for Kerr to help the ball on when her long-range effort bounced through.
Without taking away from the performances of other Matildas, Kerr is an irreplaceable cog in the Australian attack — and God forbid the unthinkable happens and the star striker is injured or sent off for an indiscretion.
But while Australia's attack has been under the spotlight thanks largely to Kerr, it is likely to be their defensive efforts that decide the do-or-die clash against world #12 Norway.
Against the Jamaicans, the Matildas were too easily exposed on the counterattack and looked flat-footed against the fast-paced "Reggae Girlz".
For Australia to advance to the quarter-finals, the Matildas must shore up their defensive tactics, not necessarily by reverting to a dangerous high line and "stepping up" as they did against Le Azzurre, but by ensuring they do not allow the Norwegians to catch them out on transition.
When the ball is thrust forward, Matildas fans will be hoping for a World Cup debut of Kerr's own trademark celebration: the backflip.
Kate O'Halloran researches women in sport at the Institute of Health and Sport at Victoria University and is a former Victorian cricketer.