Australia vs Republic Of Ireland 1-0 | Australia Starts FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Campaign with Victory

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Australia kick-off their FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 campaign with a 1-0 victory over Republic of Ireland on home soil in front of a home crowd of 75,784. Captain Steph Catley’s goal at 52’mins was enough to secure the co-hosts a win in their opening match of the tournament.

Australia vs Republic Of Ireland 1-0
Pic Credit : FIFA Women’s World Cup Twitter

 

Despite controlling the most of the ball and having several chances throughout the game, the Matildas were unable to score until the 52nd minute. Steph Catley’s, who had been fouled in the box by Irish defender Louise Quinn, converted the game-winning penalty.

Australia, one of the favorites to qualify to the next round of the competition, They got off to a strong start with the victory. Their next two group stage games are against Nigeria and Canada.

Here are some key takeaways from Australia’s victory over the Republic of Ireland:

  • Australia’s possession dominance: The Matildas controlled the majority of the match with 63% possession, and they created 13 shots to the Republic of Ireland’s 8.
  • Australia’s defense: The Matildas’ defense was solid throughout the match, and they did not allow the Republic of Ireland to create many chances.

Overall, Australia was the better team on the night and deserved their victory. They will be looking to build on this performance as they continue their campaign in the World Cup.

Despite the visitors’ tenacious play and the loss of talis-woman Sam Kerr, Australia was able to prevail and get their 2023 World Cup campaign off to a successful start.

Ireland played a calm and composed defence, but Marissa Sheva’s poorly placed challenge inside the box made all the difference.

The ladies in green can be proud of themselves for the time being, but they will have tough competition when they next play a potent Canadian team on July 26 before concluding their group matches against Nigera on July 31.

While Kerr will be aiming to be well in time for Australia’s last group encounter against Canada, they will be confident in their prospects against the Super Falcons.


Vera Pauw, Ireland coach, finished her post-match interview with: โ€œVery disappointing [regarding the result]. At half-time, we said this would be a game decided by one mistake.

โ€œWe brought on Abbie [Larkin] and Lucy [Quinn] to get more pressure forward with fresh legs. You do need to have a little bit of luck, too.

โ€œSam Kerr is one of the major top strikers of the world. Her not playing is, of course, an advantage, but they have such a powerful team. We did so well and they didnโ€™t create a lot of chances.

โ€œA draw would have been a reasonable result. I think everyone is proud that we have shown we are one of the top nations and we can only grow from this.โ€

Australia vs Republic of Ireland Final Result

Team1st Half2nd HalfFinal Score
Australia011
Republic of Ireland000

Goal :

Steph Catley’s : 52′ mins (Penalty)

Australian captain Catley, who scored the winning penalty, shared her thoughts after the match: โ€œIt is hard to put into words. It has been such a big lead up. We had a lot of excitement coming into this game. It was a little sloppy and overzealous [from us], but in the end we got the result.

โ€œI have been practicing a lot [in regards to the penalty] and I was confident about taking it.

โ€œShe [Sam Kerr] is our spiritual leader and one of the best players, if not the best player, in the world. We want to do it for her and she has been with us every step of the way.

โ€œThey [Ireland] are an extremely difficult team to play against. They have amazing players and are very well organized. It was a tough game but we are glad to have pulled it off.โ€

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