France books date with Matildas – but all eyes are on Kerr
Australia will meet France in the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup after Les Bleues cruised past Morocco 4-0 at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide.
But the co-host nation is focused solely on the fitness of superstar captain Sam Kerr, who came off the bench in the Matildas’ game against Denmark on Monday.
Sam Kerr and her Matildas co-stars after their win against Denmark. Reuters
The Australian skipper got 15 minutes of action in the dying stages of Monday’s 2-0 win that rubber-stamped the Matildas’ passage to the World Cup quarter-finals.
They will now play France, who dominated Morocco from start to finish in the round-of-16 clash on Tuesday.
The French scored three times in eight minutes in a stunning first-half blitz.
Veteran striker Eugenie Le Sommer scored either side of half-time, while Kadidiatou Diani was also impressive, opening the scoring and supplying two assists.
The breakthrough came on the quarter-hour with a slick team move started by Elisa De Almeida in defence, which led to Diani heading home the ball.
Five minutes later France had a second and this time Kenza Diali scored.
Morocco capitulated at 23 minutes when Le Sommer made it 3-0 following an error in defence from Nesryne El Chad.
France continued to threaten and looked likely to add to their tally, carving out a series of half chances before eventually scoring their fourth.
In the other round of 16 match, Colombia beat Jamaica 1-0 and will play England in their quarter-final.
France will prove a tougher opponent for Australia than Denmark, who lacked resistance in the face of a confident display from the Matildas.
But superstar Kerr is keeping her fitness status close to her chest after coming through unscathed in her return from injury for a
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