Final thoughts
Wow, that was a wild ride. It wasn’t over until the very end, when substitute Mallory Pugh notched her second of the night on the break as the Matildas were pressing for an equaliser. Until that point, thanks to Sam Kerr’s earlier header, you felt Australia might just have nicked an equaliser.
An entertaining game, for sure, but there will be big questions to be answered by both coaches with regards to their defences before they head to France. Certainly for the Matildas, conceding five, albeit to the reigning world champions and No 1-ranked side, is not a good look going into the World Cup.
Ante Milicic will now select his France-bound squad before heading to Turkey for a training camp; the US have a game against Belgium in Los Angeles in three days’ time before Jill Ellis will make any selection decisions.
That’s all from me. Thanks for tuning in. Keep an eye out for Caitlin Murray’s analysis of the US performance and Richard Parkin on the Matildas. In the meantime, here’s the match report:
Updated
90+6 min: And there goes the whistle! All over in Denver. Pugh grabs a brace off the bench to quash any Matildas comeback and the US register their first win over Australia in three attempts.
Updated
GOAL! USA 5-3 Australia (Pugh 90+5)
90+5 min: Game over! The US hit the Matildas on the break. Naeher hammers a long clearance downfield, straight to Pugh, who runs onto it and lobs the ball over the advancing Williams! She makes it look easy, but it was anything but.
Updated
90+4 min: Still the Matildas threaten though. Carpenter delivers a super ball into the box that causes a moment of concern, but is ultimately cleared.
90+2 min: The Matildas threaten briefly down the right, until Carpenter can’t quite keep control and gives up the ball.
90+1 min: Five minutes of added time to be played. There’s still time for the Matildas to pull an equaliser out of the bag. They’ll need the ball if they are to though, and they can’t afford to give possession away cheaply, like they do here.
90 min: Oh dear, another collision that leaves a player on the ground. This time’s it’s Long on Kerr. Long gets a yellow card. And the Matildas will have a chance to launch a ball forward.
89 min: No she won’t! Or if she is, she’s coming off anyway. Yallop heads off and is replaced by Katrina Gorry for the final minutes.
87 min: Yallop goes down now, after taking a ball flush in the face. Ouch. Her head snaps right back, but she’ll be OK to carry on.
86 min: Kerr goes down, and play is brought back once the Matildas lose possession. What have they got up their sleeve here?
85 min: Here comes Carli. And it’s a defender, Dahlkemper, who is coming off. Interesting decision for a team looking to hold onto a slender lead heading into the last five minutes.
84 min: Carli Lloyd looks like she’s getting ready to come on. That’ll be a concern for the Matildas. Meanwhile, Polkinghorne is booked for a shoulder charge on Mewis. She doesn’t like the decision, but the ref’s not going to change it.
83 min: What can the US do here? Heath takes a short corner, it eventually comes into the box but the header is straight at Williams.
82 min: The US respond by bringing on Allie Long, at the expense of Morgan, who won’t add to her 100 goal tally tonight.
GOAL! USA 4-3 Australia (Kerr 81)
81 min: Kerr! What a header! A trademark really. She leaps like a salmon to meet Raso’s deep cross with a thumping header that arcs beyong the despairing dive of Naeher! And the Matildas as back in this one!
Updated
80 min: Into the final 10 minutes, and a long punted cross into the box from Simon won’t reap any reward this time.
78 min: Sonnett’s race is run. She comes off to be replaced by Tierna Davidson.
77 min: It is indeed a sell-out crowd at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, by the way. More than 17,000 packed in. Good to see. Raso thinks she’s won a corner off Dunn here, but the lino’s having none of it.
Updated
76 min: A neat Kerr turn nearly gives Fowler her first touch, but she’ll have to wait a bit longer.
74 min: No sign of Mary Fowler tonight... until now. Here comes the 16-year-old, who will replace Caitlin Foord. She’s just over a quarter-of-an-hour to make an impression on Ante Milicic.
72 min: Williams comes to Australia’s rescue as she gets a big hand to a snap shot from Press, following some more neat approach play, notably from Dunn down the left-hand side. Impressive stuff from the US now.
70 min: You’d think that burst from the US should be enough now.
69 min: Alex Morgan now goes down before going off for some treatment. She’s able to continue though and she’s back on before too long.
68 min: Hayley Raso enters the fray, as Kellond-Knight is brought off.
GOAL! USA 4-2 Australia (Pugh 67)
67 min: Incredible! Pugh scores with her first touch, just seconds after coming on! The crowd lose their collective minds, as the home-town girl grans a fourth for the US with a neat finish following some lovely American approach play!
Updated
66 min: Yes it is. Pugh comes on to rapturous applause.
65 min: There’s a little break in play here as Rapinoe gets some treatment for what looks to be a calf problem. She hobbles off, sits down on the bench and that will be the end of her night you would imagine.
64 min: To illustrate the point, a chance falls to Mewis. Moments later, Press replaces Horan.
63 min: But neither would you bet against the US going on and scoring a fourth.
61 min: Will the US be able to hold onto their lead this time? You wouldn’t bet your house on it to be honest. The Matildas are still more than capable of hitting their hosts on the break again.
GOAL! USA 3-2 Australia (Rapinoe 60)
60 min: The US take the lead once again! And it’s an absolute cracker from Rapinoe! She controls a loose ball on the edge of the box before turning and firing a pin-point effort past Williams!
58 min: Carpenter wants a free-kick here, after she was bundled over by Dunn, but the whistle isn’t forthcoming. She looks aggrieved and then piles into Dunn herself.
57 min: We could be seeing a change soon. Yep, here comes Gielnik as goalscorer De Vanna departs on the far side – she doesn’t have to come all the way across under new rules. So no handshake/high-five/time-wasting anymore. I’m a fan of that.
55 min: Carpenter links with Yallop down the Australian right, but nothing comes of the foray forward this time.
54 min: This game’s shaping up to be a corker. And you’d be a mug to say there aren’t any more goals in it.
Updated
GOAL! USA 2-2 Australia (Heath 53)
53 min: There it is! Tobin Heath buries a header past Williams from close range. Nothing the keeper can do about that one. That’s her eighth in the last 10 for Heath. To say she’s on fire would be an understatement.
Updated
49 min: How will the US respond to that hammer blow? They’ve got it all to do now, yet you still know they’ve got the quality in their ranks to recover.
48 min: What a blow to deliver, so soon after the restart! Rapinoe’s frustration shows immediately and she’s shown the first yellow card of the game.
GOAL! USA 1-2 Australia (Foord 47)
47 min: No it’s not! The Matildas take the lead for the first time! Ertz’s wayward pass out of defence is intercepted by Kennedy who lays off to Kerr, who in turn lays off to Foord who spins before curling an absolute beauty past Naeher!
47 min: The Matildas stormed out of the blocks in the first half, with a chance immediately falling to De Vanna, but it’s all a bit more low key in the shadows of half-time.
Updated
46 min: Back underway in Colorado! One change to tell you about – Sam Mewis has come on for the US, with Rose Lavelle taken off at the break. No changes from Milicic.
Updated
Well, no doubt the US enjoyed the better of that first half, but the Matildas will be pleased they’re very much still in the game. The visitors remain a danger on the break, but they do look vulnerable at the back on occasion, given the US’s potent attacking line. An intriguing second half to come.
Half-time: USA 1-1 Australia
45+2 min: And that will be that for the opening period of play. One-each, but it could have been more, with a host of chances falling the hosts’ way, and a couple of Sam Kerr at the other end.
Updated
45 min: And find another goal they nearly do! What a great individual effort from Heath, who runs nearly all the way to the byline before dinking the ball up and over the advancing Williams, only to see her effort bounce wide of the far post!
44 min: The Matildas play the ball around a bit now, and you get the feeling they’ll gladly take half-time at this point. But possession is lost and the US will have one more chance.
43 min: What a run by Lavelle! She goes all the way into the box, before checking back and losing momentum. She still manages to get a shot off, moments later, but it’s high and wide.
41 mins: Kennedy delivers a poor free-kick – she’s going for goal, but it’s scooped well over Naeher’s bar.
40 mins: Horan goes down like a sack of spuds. And she stays there. Looks like her back is giving her grief after being involved in a hefty challenge. But she’s OK to carry on.
39 min: That’s all it takes – just a sniff of goal for Kerr. The US should be wary of that.
38 min: Kerr! So close to the Matildas taking the lead! Van Egmond plays the ball upfield where Kerr cuts back inside Sauerbrunn before seeing her shot heavily deflected and bounce just wide!
37 min: The Matildas look to slow things down a bit now, playing the ball around the back at bit. The US are pressing though and it never looks comfortable for the Australian. Eventually the US regain possession when Williams hoofs it long.
35 min: Yet more pressure on the Australian goal is relieved slightly by an offside call. You just feel this team has goals in them. A lot of them.
34 min: Straight down to the other end and a looping, dipping shot from Horan forces a back-peddling Williams into a fingertip save!
33 min: Kerr with another chance! De Vanna’s ball finds her at the back post, but she can’t get good enough connection on it and it’s sliced just wide.
32 min: Cleared off the line by Carpenter! What a reaction from the young Matildas right-back! Heath crosses to Rapinoe, who meets it first time with a crisp strike! Williams can only get something on it but Carpenter comes to the rescue with a last ditch clearance!
30 min: Well, well, well. Excellent response from the Matildas and an excellent goal from De Vanna.
GOAL! USA 1-1 Australia (De Vanna 29)
29 min: Commentator’s curse! De Vanna levels things up! For once, the Matildas find themselves with a numerical advantage in midfield. Foord, breaking with intent, finds De Vanna on the left, and she arrows a fierce strike into the top right hand corner! All square in Colorado!
Updated
27 min: The world No 1 team very much looking like that so far. Aside from a few brief and minor scares, they’ve been in complete control.
25 min: Lovely flick on from Morgan to Rapinoe, but her cross into the box is easily claimed by Williams this time.
23 min: Rapinoe is in miles of space here... but she’s also miles offside. The flag goes up and the Seattle forward is, um, reined in.
22 min: Heath nearly gets on the end of a nice knock-down in the box, but even at full-stretch she can’t quite get there, and the Matildas breathe again.
21 min: Naeher punches well under pressure from Kerr as the Matildas enjoy a rare sortie forward. The US keeper is there again moments later to claim, and the hosts’ will be able to build once again from the back.
19 min: Morgan, looking for goal 101, is flagged offside as the telly reports that Milicic is voicing concerns over their left hand side, and how Gemma Simon is coping in particular. That’s interesting as most of the US’s attacks have come down the other flank, and Rapinoe.
18 min: The second corner is cleared at the first, and then the US are caught offside, much to the chagrin of the vocal local crowd.
17 min: Real end-to-end stuff here, as the US threaten once more, winning their fourth and then fifth corner of the match so far.
16 min: That was coming, to be fair. But here come Australia looking to equalise straight away! Kerr! No! Chance wasted.
GOAL! USA 1-0 Australia (Morgan 14)
14 min: There it is! A century of international goals for Alex Morgan! And what a strike it is! She latches onto a long ball from Dunn before barging Polkinghorne off the ball, dropping her shoulder to get past Kennedy and firing past Williams with a sweet strike!
🔴 ⚪️⚪️⚪️ 🔵🔵🔵
— NWSL (@NWSL) April 5, 2019
🔴 ⚪️ ⚪️ 🔵 🔵
🔴 ⚪️ ⚪️ 🔵 🔵
🔴 ⚪️ ⚪️ 🔵 🔵
🔴 ⚪️⚪️⚪️ 🔵🔵🔵#USAvAUS | #USWNT pic.twitter.com/GCe86Nmngx
Updated
13 min: The US come again though as Alex Morgan forces Williams into palming away a low cross into the six-yard box. A bit of a scramble ensues, but the Matildas clear their lines eventually.
12 min: The Matildas are beginning to find their feet now, following that hectic opening 10 or so minutes. They’re playing with a bit more composure. Foord looks to muscle her way into the box, but the ball runs out of play for a US goal kick.
11 min: Strong play from Foord to hold off a US challenge and then find De Vanna out on the Australian left. But the veteran foward’s cross is poor and easily collected by Naeher.
10 min: Apologies, old habits die hard – the previous mention of Butt has been replaced with Yallop!
8 min: Foord sticks out a leg to foil Crystal Dunn and break this attack up.
7 min: Now Carpenter plays the ball down the line to Yallop who gets in a cross, but Kerr can’t get to it. And the US break...
Updated
6 min: Here’s Rapinoe again, down the US left, but this time she’s well-tracked by Ellie Carpenter, and the US attack is forced to head backwards.
5 min: The US have started the brighter of the two and since that early chance for De Vanna, it’s been pretty much all US pressure.
4 min: What an opening to the game! Breathless stuff. And here’s another corner as Williams punches Sonnett’s delivery from the right behind.
3 min: Here come the US again, with Rapinoe playing a reverse pass to Morgan, who gets off a shot but it’s deflected behind for a corner, the second of the game!
2 min: Straight down to the other end and the US win the first corner of the game, after some neat skill from Sonnett after making her way forward.
1 min: Here we go then! Underway at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. An early break for the Matildas has the US defence sweating as Foord plays in De Vanna, who looks for a penalty but there’s nothing doing!
Captains Megan Rapinoe, earning her 150th cap tonight to make her the 21st US woman to reach that milestone, and Sam Kerr meet in the middle for the coin toss before both teams go into huddles. We’re nearly at kick-off time.
Jill Ellis, the US coach: “This is great match-up for us. It will test us on every level and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Next comes the American anthem. Incredibly sung. Anticipation for a first glimpse of the Matildas’ new shirts on the players is building.
I don't care what the temp is. Give us the shirts #USAvAUS
— Ben McKay (@benmackey) April 5, 2019
Updated
And here come the teams! There are still over five minutes to go before kick-off, but we’ve got to get through the national anthems. The US women look buoyant, high-fiving each other, while the Australians appear focused. Advance Australia Fair to come first.
Here’s Sam Kerr: “With a new coach, there’s a new philosophy. The intensity increases and training has lifted a huge amount. Everyone wants to be on plane to France.”
Can we expect a ton of goals today? Perhaps. Much will depend on the respective defensive prowess. But if Alex Morgan can get her name on the scoresheet, there will be, or sorts. The US striker currently sits on 99 international goals and will bring up her ton if she can find a way past Lydia Williams in Colorado. Incredibly, that tally sees her sit only in seventh place on the US all-time scoring list.
Familiar foes. These two teams know each other well – not only have they played several times over recent years, there are a number of players who count members of the opposition as club teammates in the NWSL.
Of those recent encounters, who can forget the Matildas’ breakthrough win at the Tournament of Nations in 2017? That was the tournament that really catapulted the team, then coached by Alen Stajcic, to global recognition and set them on a path to a point where they are now ranked six in the world and head to the World Cup with real aspirations of a deep run.
The USWNT claimed a 3-1 win against the Matildas in the opening World Cup game in 2015 and in the last time they met, again at the Tournament of Nations last year, Lindsey Horan’s late equaliser broke Australian hearts after Logarzo had put the Matildas ahead.
There was also this seven years ago:
Your regular reminder that Lisa De Vanna did this against the USA back in 2012
— Ann Odong 🐨 (@AnnOdong) April 4, 2019
🏃♀️💨https://t.co/d8uzseLz8K #USAvAUS #Matildas
Some idle kit chat before kick-off. Sam Kerr will lead the Matildas out onto the pitch tonight having been installed as captain since Milicic took the reins. And she will do so in a pair of flash new boots – she stands alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar no less in being honoured by Nike with the footwear – and a brand new shirt, the first designed specifically for the women’s national team. Good luck trying to get one yourself – they sold out pretty quickly following its release last month. Exciting times indeed. And the US effort isn’t too shabby either (with added bonus of three stars above the badge, the big showoffs):
That 🆕🆕. The #USWNT 2019 World Cup away kit debuts tonight! pic.twitter.com/E523608MP0
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) April 5, 2019
Team news
The Matildas will without three regulars in vice-captain Steph Catley, defender Laura Alleway and forward Chloe Logarzo, all three of whom are carrying minor injuries and won’t be risked. Their absence opens the door to Mary Fowler, Katrina Gorry, Teagan Micah and Elizabeth Ralston. Milicic said Fowler will get onto the pitch today, but she will do so from the bench. The unfamiliar name of Tameka Yallop makes it into the starting XI, but that no late bolting interloper, it’s the player formerly known as Tameka Butt, now Yallop following her nuptials to the former Football Fern, Kirsty Yallop!
STARTING XI | Here is how we line up against @USWNT in Denver. #USAvAUS #GoMatildas pic.twitter.com/x4QgyEVa2E
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) April 5, 2019
For the US, 15 of the 16 players who featured against Australia in last year’s Tournament of Nations are in the squad, including 10 of those who started in the 1-1 draw in East Hartford. Alyssa Naeher returns in goal having missed the two final SheBelieves Cup games while Lindsey Horan who didn’t feature at all in last month’s tournament, is also back following a quad injury. It’s worth noting that the American bench features the likes of Carli Lloyd and Christen Press. Gulp.
#1🇺🇸 vs. #6🇦🇺! Tonight’s XI is here.
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) April 5, 2019
Lineup notes » https://t.co/8JUIiD7jhD pic.twitter.com/2vjDcB12PI
Preamble
This one has been billed as a real test for both sides ahead of the upcoming World Cup, but perhaps more importantly will be the chance afforded to each coach to cast an eye over what is available to them before they settle on their final lists of players to take to France for the tournament starting in June.
For the No 1-ranked US, this is the last time they will face a top-10 team before France – Jill Ellis’s side face Belgium in LA in three days time before they contest a three-match farewell series with South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico next month. For the Matildas, it represents a final hit-out before Ante Milicic heads to a Turkish training camp with his World Cup squad.
Plenty to talk about, plenty to learn, plenty to enjoy. A sell-out is expected at the 18,000-seater stadium in Commerce City on the outskirts of Denver, where kick-off will be at 7:30pm local, 12:30 AEDT in Australia. Do stick with me, and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts on the game by emailing mike.hytner@theguardian.com or tweeting @mike_hytner.
