Australia made it two from two in the October window after a come from behind 3-1 friendly victory over Denmark in Viborg on Tuesday.
The Matildas couldn't have had a worse start with the Danes opening the scoring in the first 46 seconds of the match. Karen Holmgaard was on the end of a quick and slick passage of passing, side-footing it past Teagan Micah from 12 yards out.
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Australia eventually settled into the match and dominated proceedings with Sam Kerr and Cortnee Vine having some of the best chances to equalise.
The deserved leveller came in the 65th minute. Caitlin Foord's shot from inside the box took a lucky deflection which wrong-footed Lene Christensen in goal.
The Matildas next two goals were anything but lucky. Katrina Gorry pounced on the loose ball after some Alex Chidiac pressure and unleashed what was a stunning, signature, long-range effort. Foord added a second two minutes later. Her touch, turn, and shot were too good for Christensen and the Matildas comeback was complete.
JUMP TO: Player ratings | Best/worst performers | Highlights and notable moments | Post-match quotes | Key stats | Upcoming fixtures
Reaction
1. Foord's purple patch
Foord wanted to score more and, truthfully, she needed to be scoring more. Before this October window, the Arsenal forward had scored once this year for her country: in the 18-0 demolition of Indonesia at the Asian Cup.
She leaves these two games with a double against the Danes to go with her goal and assist against South Africa. She's long been seen as a vital cog in the Matildas forward line and even more so as a key part of the solution when it comes to not relying on Kerr for Australian goals.
She is oozing confidence at the moment for club and country. She is unafraid to take players on, incisive with her runs, and unafraid to do the selfish thing and take the shot.
By her own harsh admission, she wants to score even more, citing the chances she had and didn't convert. But the dam walls appear to have broken for Foord and Australia will be relishing the return of another reliable, consistent goal-scorer.
2. Chidiac the midfield answer
With so many midfielders absent for the Matildas thanks to an ever-growing injury list, the silver lining among fans was the belief that Chidiac would get some substantial game time. While the Racing Louisville midfielder didn't get the start, her impact was undeniable against Denmark.
Just as she did against South Africa, her introduction seemed to create a visible, tangible increase in intensity. She wasted no time influencing the match, anticipating a Danish pass and applying enough pressure to force an error. Gorry ran onto the loose ball and unleashed a long range rocket to make it 2-1.
Chidiac didn't stop there however. Her performance saw her run, harry, follow through, and generally make herself a nuisance that Denmark couldn't really contain.
3. Progress
When these October friendlies were announced, the Denmark match loomed as a barometer game. Tony Gustavsson's third-ever game in charge of the Matildas was against the Danes -- a 3-2 defeat -- and so this latest match up presented an opportunity. Had the Matildas gotten better when benchmarked against what was shown in June 2021?
For all of Gustavsson's talk of progress within the team, this match would show in arguably the clearest terms whether or not the team had moved forward in a way that felt abundantly, undeniably clear.
On paper, the win indicates that things have improved. There are, of course, caveats. This was not a full strength Denmark. But neither was it a full strength Matildas team. Ultimately, a team can only play the one in front of them. And considering the Matildas have made a habit of conceding early and failing to come back or dominating all the lines on the stats sheet bar the score, the fact that the performance and the score line reflected each other also felt like progress.
A World Cup isn't won nine months out with two friendly wins. But for what feels like the first time in the Gustavsson era, the Matildas showed the strongest indication that what they've been building over the last two and a half years can bear fruit.
Player Ratings
Australia: Teagan Micah 5, Charlotte Grant 5, Aivi Luik 5, Clare Polkinghorne 5, Steph Catley 5, Kyra Cooney-Cross 6, Katrina Gorry 7, Sam Kerr 5, Caitlin Foord 7, Cortnee Vine 6, Hayley Raso 5
Subs: Mary Fowler 5, Alex Chidiac 7, Courtney Nevin 5
Denmark: Lene Christensen 5, Stine Ballisager 6, Simone Boye 6, Rikke Sevecke 6, Janni Thomsen 5, Kathrine Kuhl 5, Karen Holmgaard 6, Katrine Veje 7, Sofie Bredgaard 5, Signe Bruun 6, Amalie Vangsgaard 7
Subs: Pernille Harder 5, Sofie Svava 5, Sanne Troelsgaard 5, Sara Thrige 5, Millie Gelj 4, Josefine Hasbo 4
Best and worst performers
BEST: Caitlin Foord
With two goals to her name and a bevy of chances created, Foord was the Matildas best attacking outlet.
WORST: Millie Gelj
The striker entered the fray with minimal time to try and get Denmark back into the contest and couldn't do so.
Highlights and notable moments
Gorry has made a habit of pulling out absolute bangers from distance over the course of her career and her strike against Denmark was no exception.
PICK THAT ONE OUT! 🎯
— Paramount+ Australia (@ParamountPlusAU) October 11, 2022
An absolute rocket from Katrina Gorry gives @TheMatildas the lead in Denmark!
🇩🇰 1-2 🇦🇺 #DENvAUS pic.twitter.com/r1foLU1Ane
Denmark isn't a place where you expect to find many Australians and the noise levels after every Matildas goal reflected the small number of Aussie fans in the stands. But there were some, like this legend.
— Marissa Lordanic (@marissalordanic) October 11, 2022
After the match: What the managers, players said
Foord to Channel 10 post-game: "That one feels very good. I think obviously we've been building and the results just haven't fallen in our way so to get the win against South Africa. And then again tonight, it's huge for us and it's for what we're building. Just for our confidence as well."
Key stats
- The Matildas hadn't beaten European opposition in four years, This victory was their first over a European side since a 4-3 win over Norway at the 2019 Algarve Cup.
- Australia conceded a goal in the opening 10 minutes for the sixth time since the beginning of 2021.
- This defeat is Denmark's first-ever against Australia in six meetings.
Up next
Australia: In a month's time, the Matildas will be back on home soil, this time hosting Sweden in Melbourne before traveling up to Gosford for a date with Thailand to round out 2022.
Denmark: Denmark will continue its preparations for the World Cup next year with November friendlies set to be announced during the week.