Australia among World Cup final eight after the defeating Denmark
The Sydney Opera House blazed green and gold and the Matildas did not disappoint, delivering a solid 2-0 win against Denmark in front of an overjoyed home crowd gripped by World Cup fever
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Denmark might have Princess Mary but Australia crowned a new queen, after a stunning Mary Fowler performance helped the Matildas qualify for the quarterfinals for the fourth time at a World Cup. Better yet, the 2-0 win in Sydney featured the return of superstar striker Sam Kerr.
But it was the young star Fowler’s pass to set up Caitlin Foord’s opening goal that was her crowning moment in the Matildas’ second ever win in the knockout stage of the tournament.
Having weathered* several dangerous early raids that saw Danish players Rikke Marie Madsen and captain Pernille Harder go close, it was a piece of Fowler magic that sent a raucous* crowd of 75,784 into raptures* when she toyed* with the opposition midfield, then whipped in a long ball with her wrong foot to release Foord.
The speedy midfielder was never going to waste the opportunity, calmly slotting the ball into the back of the net to give the hosts the lead after 29 minutes, before she nearly added a second via a deflected shot that should have earned a corner*.
A 1-0 lead was always going to be tense as the Danes looked for an equaliser, but the fans didn’t have to wait too long for the all-important second goal as Fowler again played a key role to double the advantage.
A neat exchange down the left released the speedy forward who dinked in a dangerous ball which found Emily van Egmond, who laid it off for Hayley Raso who thumped in another goal to continue her stunning World Cup.
Sam Kerr returned from her calf injury to get 15 crucial minutes when Matildas coach Tony
Gustavsson brought Kerr on after Raso made it 2-0 in a move that brought plenty of risk.
There was an worrying moment when Kerr collapsed to the turf without anyone near her, but it proved to be a false alarm as Kerr shook off the rust with some promising touches in a sign she could be ready to start on Saturday.
All eyes are now on Tuesday’s game between France and Morocco, with the winner set to play the Matildas in Brisbane this weekend.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- weathered: survived a difficult situation
- raucous: loud, excited and uncontrolled
- raptures: extreme pleasure, happiness and excitement
- toyed: played at or with something quite casually
- a corner: an opportunity to kick the ball from the corner of the playing area, allowed when a player from the other team has not obeyed one of the rules
EXTRA READING
Matildas win to keep World Cup dream alive
Matildas positive despite shock loss
QUICK QUIZ
- Who scored the first goal for the Matildas?
- What was the final score?
- How many people attended the game in Sydney?
- Who scored the second goal for Australia?
- The game on Tuesday between which two countries will decide who plays the Matildas this weekend?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Summarise the article
A summary is a brief statement of the main points of something. It does not usually include extra detail or elaborate on the main points.
Use the 5W & H model to help you find the key points of this article. Read the article carefully to locate who and what this article is about, and where, when, why and how this is happening. Once you have located this information in the article, use it to write a paragraph that summarises the article.
Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science
VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article, or for the interview.
Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.
Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.