By Kieran Yap 9/3/24
Above: Australia line up to face Chinse Taipei in the final group game. Photo: Football Australia/Tiff Williams
Australia has qualified for the Under 20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia. Goals to Jessika Nash, Zara Kruger and Claudia Cicco gave The Young Matildas a comfortable win over Chinese Taipei and guaranteed them top spot in the group.
After winning the first two games, Australia had the luxury of knowing that a draw or better would see them progress from the group, but coach Leah Blayney took no chances with the lineup. This squad is deep, and even players rotated out were replaced by prodigious talents with A-League Women experience. Alana Murphy was replaced by Kruger, while Claudia Cicco and Kahli Johnson came in for Lara Gooch and Maddie Caspers.
Australia started in dominant fashion. The Young Matildas snapped into tackles, pressed high up the pitch and bypassed Chinese Taipei’s formation with impressive, quick passes. Peta Trimis and Daniela Galic were stand out performers once again. Their close control and eye-catching changes of pace kept the opposition guessing and at times visibly panicking.
Johnson looked dangerous out wide on the left and her direct style caused early problems. She had the ball in the back of the net from a Galic cutback but it was waved away for offside.
Naomi Chinnama almost opened the scoring with a towering header but the crossbar denied her a second of the tournament.
Australia inevitably broke the deadlock through the captain. Jessika Nash cushioned her volley into the far corner after Galic found her with a floating cross at the back post. The finish was quality, and the assist was another example of how this team can find different ways to create chances.
Kruger had the second before half time. Johnson’s cross from the left found its way through three Chinese Taipei defenders and by the time it arrived at Kruger’s feet she had even more to contend with. She delayed on the ball, waited for the keeper to commit and shifted the ball one more time to create the space to double Australia’s lead.
With qualification essentially secured., Blayney made changes at half time. Nash and Chinnama were rested, with possible intentions to protect them receiving yellow cards that would disqualify them from the semi finals. This coincided with Chinese Taipei coming out with much more attacking intent. The Australian defence, now containing Teagan Bertolissio and Gemma Ferris handle it well, but the game was on much more even terms for the second half.
Cicco sealed the win with a late goal from a corner kick. Chinese Tapei failed to clear the ball and substitute Indiana Dos Santos prodded the ball back to Cicco who finished from close range.
Celebrations after the final whistle were relatively muted considering the huge achievement. Australia has not qualified directly for an Under 20 Women’s World Cup since 2006, and are now within two wins of an Asian Cup trophy. The team is talented and well organized but they have the feel of a side that knows bigger things are on the horizon than finishing top in the group stage.
So far, this has been a very solid tournament. They have won all three games, scored seven goals and conceded just one. The players seem aware that there is still room for improvement and this was the first game since qualifiers that they have scored in both halves. They have achieved something special and are still getting better.
Congratulations Young Matildas. We are all excited to see what comes next.
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