It's not all about me: Four-goal Kerr praises Matildas' team effort

Skipper Sam Kerr deflected the praise on to her Matildas teammates after her historic four-goal haul saw Australia cruise past Jamaica and into the FIFA Women’s World Cup Round of 16.

Jamaica had no answers to Kerr’s brilliance on Wednesday morning (AEST), with the striker scoring twice in each half as the Matildas prevailed 4-1 at Grenoble's Stade des Alpes.

The 25-year-old found the net with two towering headers in the first-half before showing her predatory instincts with a pair of close-range finishes after the break, including capitalising on a howler from Jamaican 'keeper Nicole McClure.

Kerr became the first Australian player to score a hat-trick at a FIFA World Cup (men’s and women’s), while she is now equal leading scorer at the tournament with five goals.

But instead of basking in the plaudits that will inevitably come her way after her stunning individual display, Kerr was quick to highlight the teamwork involved in the victory, which sets up a knockout clash against Norway at 5:00am on Sunday (AEST). 

“It’s an amazing feeling, obviously, scoring my first goal in the World Cup against Italy and to do this [against Jamaica] – but it was a team effort,” she said.

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It wasn’t just about me today, it was a team effort and that’s what has got us through to the next round.

“A win was really important for us today.

“We weren’t too pleased with our first half, but a win’s a win. That’s what we needed to build our confidence going into the next game.”

With Brazil defeating Italy 1-0 in the other match in Group C, the Matildas’ big win saw them leapfrog the South Americans into second place on goal difference and set-up the meeting with the Norwegians in Nice.

Coach Ante Milicic was delighted to progress but conceded the Matildas will need to improve to go further in the tournament.

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“Norway is a proud European country with a lot of history [in the sport]. It’s going to be a very difficult game,” he said.

“We now have to review this game quickly, with a short turnaround.

We know we have to be better if we want to get past a very strong Norwegian team."

World Cup France 2019™ – Round of 16 - Next Australia match

Norway v Australia
Date: Sunday, 23 June 2019 (AEST)
Venue: Stade de Nice, Nice
Kick-off: 5.00am AEST (9.00pm local time, Saturday 22 June)

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