Australia 1 - 2 Italy
And with that, this liveblog draws to a close. Thanks for joining me. I’ll be in Montpellier on Thursday when Australia take on Brazil. Until then!
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More reaction from Milicic:
Yes it’s a work in progress – but that’s no excuse. Today was all about getting points from the game.
Here’s Richard Parkin’s first take from Valenciennes:
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Eric writes in, rather unhappy with the Australian performance. The gist of his comments are as follows:
Australia cannot win the World Cup.
Matildas boss Ante Milicic speaks in the post-match press conference:
There’s still two games to go. We need to regroup quickly and learn from the mistakes. To lose the game that late in the piece – I don’t think we deserved that.
The Italians, meanwhile, will be delighted with that shock victory. Returning to this grand stage for the first time in two decades, Italy were resolute in their defence and took the opportunities that fell for them. A brave performance which was rewarded with maximum points.
A very poor start to the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup for the Matildas. Not quite disastrous - and given the better third-placed teams qualify for the next round, there is still a long way to go and cause for optimism. But Australia now need to beat Brazil on Thursday to retain hope of topping Group C. And that won’t be easy.
Australian fans won’t like that ending, but you can’t deny it was entertaining.
Stoppage time goals to win it ... #WorldCup2019 #AUSITA pic.twitter.com/pWXrwRg0Ve
— Kara Evenson (@karaevenson) June 9, 2019
Mike from Canada writes in:
Methinks that the much-lauded Matildas underestimated Italy which played as if rankings didn’t matter ... and they don’t.
Australian coach Ante Milicic does not look happy on the touch-line. This was supposed - supposed - to be an soft opener to the Fifa Women’s World Cup for Australia. Sure, Italy were not going to be easy, and the Matildas said all the right things about respecting the opposition. But they weren’t expecting that.
Full-time: Australia 1 - 2 Italy
Full-time: A last gasp Australian attempt did not amount to anything and the Italians have secured a surprise win in Valenciennes.
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GOAL! Australia 1-2 Italy (90+5')
90+5 min: GOALLLLLLLLLLLL. Bonansea is the woman of the moment. She nods in from the free-kick to take the advantage for the Italians. Mamma mia!
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90+3 min: Italy take the ball to the Australian corner for some time wasting, and win themselves a dangerous free-kick in the process.
90+2 min: The free-kick is punched out by Giuliani, who has had an excellent stint between the Italian sticks.
90+1 min: Foord wins a free-kick on the left-hand side of the Italian box. Could this be Australia’s last chance?
90 min: Five minutes of injury time. Can either side find the winner? On current form, it doesn’t look likely
88 min: A Catley error almost gifts Italy the winner, but a good save from Williams and - you’d never guess - ANOTHER offside call saves the day.
88 min: The action is getting rather scrappy as both teams search for a winner. Australia have more momentum, but it isn’t amounting to anything just yet.
Some Italian thoughts on the offside officiating.
#AUSITA #AustraliaItalia #ItaliaAustralia LUCKY AUSTRALIA!! pic.twitter.com/j3dXoAm26F
— CF7 🇮🇹 (@filippothecap) June 9, 2019
84 min: The Italian danger woman Bonansea receives the ball and charges towards Australian custodian Williams. She’s intercepted by a Matildas’ defender, but - again - called offside.
82 min: Yallop off for Australia, replaced by Kellond-Knight. Can KK make a late impact for the Matildas?
That’s two Italian goals chalked off for offside today. I’m sure they don’t need me to tell them that they might want to work on that...
80 min: Goal Italy? Sabatino converts after her shot attempt first hits the upright and bounces back, but it is ruled offside - again.
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79 min: Italy piling on the pressure, forcing a dangerous backpass from Kennedy to Williams - although, again, the Italian move is subsequently ruled offside.
Attendance in Valenciennes today: 15,380. That’s not too far shy of its maximum capacity of about 25,000.
76 min: Sub De Vanna is making an impact, if not the one hoped - she’s picked up a yellow card. Italy have also made a sub: Bergamaschi is replaced by Giacinti.
75 min: The Matildas are looking very flat. Perhaps they didn’t expect such a test from the Italians, appearing at their first Fifa Women’s World Cup in two decades.
It’s fair to say that Italy have the upper-hand right now. They’ve been creating space on both flanks, while the Australians have been largely quiet.
70 min: Italy go on a marauding run with Bergamaschi, who knocks it into the hands of Williams - but it is called back for offside. The Matildas are living dangerously.
Kerr has been surprisingly quiet this game. True, she converted her saved penalty, but otherwise hasn’t shown her usual dynamism. Is the pressure of the big stage getting to her?
68 min: Raso off for Gorry for the Aussies. It almost rhymes...
Australian fans putting their faith in the impact sub. Cometh the hour, cometh Lisa De Vanna?
From long-time Matildas fan Kevin Flood:
De Vanna will change this for the Aussies. The veteran will make the difference.
We'll be alright, De Vanna is here. #AUSITA #FIFAWWC
— Daniel Hanney ⚽ ✈ (@DanHanney) June 9, 2019
64 min: Corner Australia and Kennedy gets her head to it, but it nods just wide.
OB Jato has certainly changed his/her/their tune:
Did I mention Italy have been pretty good too
60 min: Australia reply with a sub of their own - Logarzo off for De Vanna. If the current action isn’t sufficiently captivating, Parkin had a lovely chat with the mercurial veteran recently which you can read below.
59 min: Italy almost take the lead! Chaos in the Matildas back-line. This has been quite the turn-around.
58 min: Italy make their first subsitution, Mauro off for AC Milan forward Sabatino.
GOAL! Australia 1-1 Bonansea ( 55')
55 min: Italy equalise! Well, that’s a change isn’t it? Just as the Matildas were looking comfortable, a defensive howler from Clare Polkinghorne saw Bonansea collect on the corner of the box, waltz towards goal and calmly finish past Williams. Oh dear.
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53 min: Double opportunity for Australia has Italian custodian Giuliani scrabbling, but they amount to nothing.
51 min: The Australian supporter’s section next to me have started a Mexican wave. Can we please ban these until at least the 80th minute? Please, have some decorum!
Noted tactical expert Richard Parkin (sitting next to me) had this to say, in between frantically working on his match report:
Australia are overloading the right side channel - Carpenter and Raso are having a field day against the Italian left-back. The Matildas just need to hold tight and the three points are in reach, but Girelli is looking dangerous - she’s the one to watch for Italy.
48 min: Corner to Italy. Giugliano swings it in and Williams has to bat away. The Matildas quickly counter and it’s down field we go.
OB Jato writes in again. With the title ‘My thoughts on the first 45 minutes of Matildas’ 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup campaign’, I’m expecting a lengthy missive. Instead:
They’re bloody good.
Second half underway
46 min: Peep! We’re back on in Valenciennes. Can the Matildas add to their advantage? Or is the fight-back on? Let’s find out.
So, dear reader, what are your thoughts on the first 45 minutes of the Matildas’ 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup campaign? Let me know: email or tweet @KieranPender.
There’s a lot of love on social media for Ellie Carpenter, Australia’s teenage defensive sensation. She has been causing Italy all sorts of headaches on the flank. Tweet of the day, which I can now no longer locate: ‘Can she play for the Socceroos, too?’
Ellie Carpenter having a stormer, best player on the park in the first half. Matildas are combining well upfront, a second goal is looking likely after the break. #AUSITA #GoMatildas
— Derryn Thomas (@derryn_thomas) June 9, 2019
Well. Italy started strongly, but had their momentum dented with that penalty - which was saved but bounced back into the path of Sam Kerr for her first-ever World Cup goal. Australia have had 57% of possession and have, on balance, been the better team across the first 45 - but they are a long way from leaving with all three points. Give me a moment to compose myself and I’ll be back with the second-half shortly.
HALF TIME: Australia 1 - 0 Italy
45+2 min: Referee Borjas brings an end to the first half of proceedings.
45 min: As half-time draws near, Foord switches right to Raso - who lofts in a cross but Kerr is blocked by an Italian defender and Giuliani grasps the ball.
Someone has been taking goal celebration lessons from the one and only...
Great start and loving the celebration. Let's see if we can build on this and add another. 💚💛⚽️ pic.twitter.com/B8sYV6fxuQ
— TIM CAHILL (@Tim_Cahill) June 9, 2019
42 min: This time the Matildas come at Italy from the left via Logarzo, but again their penetration does not lead to a goal-scoring chance.
40 min: Australia are creating a lot of space and embarking on some nice mazy runs, but failing to convert this creativity into clear opportunities. The Italians are still very much in this game.
The Matildas’ attack down the right side is *chef’s kiss* now to convert those breaks 🤞🏻#AUSITA #GoMatildas
— Imperator My Soulpup is Anya 💜🖤 (@fionahelen) June 9, 2019
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37 min: Logarzo’s head connects to a beautiful Matildas’ cross, but it bounces out for an Australian corner - which comes to nothing.
34 min: Italy’s captain Gama was yellow-carded for the effort that led to the penalty, which could cause the Italians headaches. She’s the defensive lynchpin for both Juventus and the national team, and will now have to check herself in tackles for the hour remaining.
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31 min: A big roar from the crowd as Williams picks herself off the ground and continues on. The 1,500-odd Australians in Valenciennes are certainly making themselves heard.
30 min: Excellent goalkeeping from Lydia Williams, to deny a close-range shot from Girelli - although the Australian keeper has injured herself in the process.
How’s this for an iconic shot?
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27 min: Carpenter again causing havoc on the right. Just 19, she’s the youngest member of this Australian starting XI and is making a big impact.
25 min: Carpenter dashes down the inside right channel and slides the ball through to Kerr, whose shot is deflected out for a corner.
22 min: Well, that should certainly settle the Australian nerves. The Italians had been resisting well and created a number of chances (including that disallowed goal). But the clear penalty has handed the advantage and the momentum to the Matildas.
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GOAL! Australia 1-0 Italy (Kerr 21')
21 min: Kerr converts! 1-0 Australia. Only just - Guiliani gets a hand to the spot-kick, but it rebounds and Kerr fires home. That’s her first-ever goal in a Fifa Women’s World Cup.
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PENALTY (Australia 20')
20 min: Italian captain Gama knocks down Sam Kerr in the box and the Honduran referee wastes no time pointing to the spot.
19 min: Catley fires it in, and the ball rebounds out to van Egmond - who shoots and is centimetres away from finding Hayley Raso. That’s Australia’s best chance of the match so far.
18 min: Australia win a free-kick in the Italian right-hand corner. Dangerous areas...
Reader David Hancock does not agree with my love of the Matildas’ kit:
It’s awful. It looks especially sickly up against the stylish Italy kit. It’s as if the designer got one of their kids to draw the pattern
16 min: Some tactical insight from colleague Richard Parkin, sitting next to me. The Italians are playing a narrow three in the midfield, which means there is space for the Australian full-backs. Steph Catley and Sam Kerr are combining well, and that could be a danger area for Italy.
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14 min: Alia Guagni picks up a pass on the edge of the Matildas box and has a punt, but her shot flies well-wide of Australian custodian Lydia Williams.
13 min: This has been an exciting, end-to-end encounter so far. Italy mean business and any hopes that their two decade absence from the Women’s World Cup would dent their return have so far proved unfounded. To paraphase the Australian Prime Minister: ‘How good is football?!’
NO GOAL (Italy 9')
9 min: Italy score! But it’s off-side. Bonansea collects a scything ball through the midfield and has acres of space. It is disallowed by the assistant and is referred to VAR. The replay shows Bonansea was perhaps a milimetre offside - but no benefit of the doubt this time, with VAR - eventually - holding for Australia.
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Rachel here reflecting the views of just about every Australian right now. Kerr has been quiet in the first eight minutes, but it’s unlikely to be too long until she starts troubling the Italian defence.
God I love Sam Kerr. #FIFAWWC #AUSITA #GoMatildas
— Rachel (@RachTalksSoccer) June 9, 2019
6 min: Caitlin Foord is finding plenty of space in the attacking third for Australia, but struggling to connect with her team-mates on that final pass.
5 min: The Matildas have had the better of the early exchanges, with a couple of half-chances. But they certainly aren’t dominating and the Italians have already produced some movement through the midfield.
Good spot from AAP scribe Ben McKay. Let’s hope...
Honduran ref for #AUSITA ... here's hoping she doesn't hold grudges from 2018 qualifying 😬
— Ben McKay (@benmackey) June 9, 2019
Kick-off!
1 min: We’re underway! And the Italians are already on the attack, with a foraging run down the left flank.
I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot of this today. Or more accurately, we won’t be seeing Sam Kerr as she speeds past the Italian defence.
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The Italian anthem is a very upbeat affair, it must be said. Now just the usual formalities to go and we will be underway, for the opening match of group C of the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
The players are walking out now. The Stade du Hainaut is perhaps three-quarters full and the atmosphere is very positive. ‘Advance Australia Fair’ now belting out.
We’ve had a reader write in to offer a contrarian prediction. OB Jato says: ‘Something tells me it could be a 1-1 draw!’ Do email me your missives or get on-board the Twitter action: @KieranPender
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The stadium management are cycling through the usual Fifa playlist. Which means AC/DC is getting a work-out. ‘You’ve been Thunderstruckkkkkk’ etc and so on. Standing by for the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army, which signals that things are about to get going.
The Guardian’s Australian panel of experts have convened and given their verdicts on today’s match. Richard Parkin was originally tipping a draw, then saw the Italian shooting in warm-up and changed his mind. Editor Mike Hytner refused to be drawn: “Predictions are a mug’s game. You’ll not get one out of me”. No-one is tipping Italy, but then again, as we saw at election time, the polls are always wrong.
Megan Maurice: 2-1 Matildas
Richard Parkin: 2-0 Matildas
Kieran Pender: 2-1 Matildas
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In one of those ‘only Fifa’ things, late Matildas call-up Karly Roestbakken had her name spelled incorrectly (‘Roestabakken’) on the version of the team-list approved by Fifa and they are apparently not able to change it until the next match...
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With 25 minutes to kick off, the stadium is beginning to fill up nicely. As of yesterday, 16,500 tickets had been sold. 1,256 supporters were identifiable as Australian fans and 850 as Italy supporters. Given it is a two hour flight from Italy and a 24 hour flight from Australia, the green and gold army can claim that as a comprehensive moral victory for Australia. The Matildas also seem to be the neutral favourite in Valenciennes – at least that’s what I think the locals were saying in the bakery this morning, but then again, je ne parle pas français.
And for those of you who prefer your line-up information in visual form:
Here are the 1️⃣1️⃣ players starting for @TheMatildas against Italy. #AUSITA #WeAreMatildas #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/YpP0VMv26Z
— Matildas (@TheMatildas) June 9, 2019
✅ Formazioni ufficiali del match #AUSITA
— Nazionale Femminile di Calcio (@AzzurreFIGC) June 9, 2019
🏟️ 🇦🇺 Australia 🆚 Italia 🇮🇹 #RagazzeMondiali #FIFAWWC #DareToShine #LeMomentDeBriller pic.twitter.com/maSJkaWVM7
Line-ups
The teams are in, and Ante Milicic is fielding a Matildas side unchanged from that which lost to Holland in their only pre-tournament friendly. Italy, meanwhile, have opted for an attacking 4-3-3 formation. As a side note - six of the 11 starters for Italy have surnames beginning with ‘G’.
Australia: Williams, Polkinghorne, Logarzo, Catley, Foord, Van Egmond, Yallop, Kennedy, Raso, Kerr, Carpenter
Italy: Giuliani, Bergamasch, Gama, Galli, Linari, Guagni, Girelli, Bonansea, Mauro, Cernoia, Giugliano
The Matildas and Italy are both on the pitch warming up. Can we just take a moment to appreciate how great the Australian kit is?
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Bonjour! Hello and welcome from the lovely Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes - Kieran Pender reporting for duty. It is a nice day in northern France – the sun was shining until a moment ago, and the temperature is just right for a great match of football. I will be your live blog host for today, from live in the stadium. I’ll level with you: this is the first time I have live blogged live, so to speak – the magic normally happens from behind a screen with the benefit of television replays. The Guardian – always innovating! So feel free to send me your thoughts, and I will endeavor to bring you a sense of the atmosphere in the stadium.
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And with that I hand you over to Kieran Pender on the ground in France who will take you through the pre-match and all the action of tonight’s game. Thanks for hanging out with me as we get hyped up together. I leave you in Kieran’s capable hands as I get into fan mode. Enjoy the game!
Stepping away from tonight’s game for a moment, we ran a fascinating interview with USA back Crystal Dunn on the struggles she faces as a black woman in a sport dominated by the white middle class in her home country. With the US as one of the tournament favourites, she is sure to be an influential player in this World Cup.
And of course, don’t miss our guide to the Matildas, where Richard Parkin predicts that Ellie Carpenter will be the surprise packet of the World Cup. Keep an eye on the teenage sensation tonight, Parkin describes her as “tenacious, hard-working, with pace and an engine that goes all day.”
If you’re interesting in scoping out the opposition, head on over to our Experts’ Network team guide to Italy. Lots of great information in this one, including the fact that captain Sara Gama was made into a Barbie doll as part of a role models campaign!
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It was also great to see what Guardian readers from around the world are predicting for the tournament. There is so much hope, positivity and passion in here - a beautiful reflection of what the World Cup means to football fans.
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While we’re on the subject, Kieran Pender (who is going to take you through tonight’s game) had a great article earlier this week on the role of Fifa in this tournament and how their promotion - or lack thereof - will affect the players and fans.
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Former Matildas player Joey Peters has summed up the situation wonderfully with her article this week explaining how the Women’s World Cup can be a platform for change. Although women’s football has come a long way, there is still so far to go and this tournament has the ability to spark lasting change for women all over the world.
If you’re just hopping on the Matildas bandwagon, welcome aboard! There’s no judgement here and the more fans the merrier when a World Cup is at stake. If you’re new to football and you’re not quite sure how it all works, we’ve got you covered with all the essential questions answered here:
Not much hope for the Matildas’ chances in our football writers’ predictions this week. However Australians love an underdog and if they manage to come away with a win it will make victory even sweeter. In good news, both Caitlin Murray and Kieran Pender have tipped Sam Kerr to be the top scorer for the tournament.
Sam Kerr meanwhile, may never have made it to a World Cup if she’d been born in a different era. As an AFL-mad kid, she would certainly have been chasing a spot in the AFLW had it been around when she was younger. Instead she switched to football and by her own admission was “total crap” when she first began. From there to Ballon d’Or nominee, this is a fascinating look at what drives Kerr on.
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Lisa de Vanna has had quite a career with the Matildas. The 34-year-old has been twice removed from the Matildas set up for behavioural issues throughout her career and has never been afraid to speak her mind. It’s refreshing to hear her honesty as she approaches the latter stages of her career and see how she has matured over the years.
Let’s set the scene while we wait for the action to begin. This is a huge moment for the Matildas. With each World Cup, the pool of nations who could conceivably win the tournament gets larger. While certainly no heroes when it comes to investing in women’s sport, Australia have been ahead of many other countries in this area due to a strong sporting culture across the board. But as women’s sport becomes more financially interesting to countries who are strong in the men’s game, we will no doubt see more and more teams rise up. This is a major reason why there’s a bit of a feeling of ‘now or never’ for the Matildas. Richard Parkin covers it off beautifully in his article from this morning.
While pay disputes feature heavily in this year’s tournament, with huge disparities between the men’s and women’s World Cups, it’s certainly interesting to look back and see how far we’ve come. Louise Taylor’s fascinating article on the history of the Women’s World Cup tells the story of a team of English rebels who defied authorities to participate in an unofficial World Cup in Mexico in 1971.
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Unfortunately we must start with some bad news for the Matildas with experienced defender Laura Alleway ruled out of today’s game with a suspected fracture to her foot. The veteran of two World Cups was in fantastic form leading in and could have pushed for a starting spot.
Preamble
Well the moment has finally arrived! After patiently waiting through the first two days of competition, Matildas fans finally get the chance to see their team in action. It’s unlikely to be an easy match for the Australians, coming up against Italy who are currently ranked 15th in the world. While the Matildas are comfortably ahead with their world number 6 ranking, Italy have had some strong results lately with comfortable wins over Hungary and Thailand in March.
It’s sure to be a big one, so stay with me as I take you through the build up, then hand over to our intrepid reporter Kieran Pender for the pre-match and the game itself.
