Charli Grant and Tameka Yallop were available to the media for a press conference following training at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC), the team's first session since Thursday night's victory over the Republic of Ireland in their FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ opener.
Tameka Yallop, who was forced off injured in Australia's 1-0 win over France in the team's send-off game at Marvel Stadium, provided an update on her fitness.
“Physically, I think I’m fully recovered, I’m fighting fit & ready to go,” Yallop explained.
A topic of discussion across both press conferences today was Sam Kerr's injury, with the striker ruled out of Australia's opening match with a calf injury she sustained in training.
“It’s disappointing for her personally but she’s also very supportive,” Yallop said.
“Sam’s just like any other player. We’re a team of 23 and she supports us from the bench, and we support her right back as well."
“She still brings that (presence) no matter if she’s sitting on the sidelines or in amongst it. We have a lot of personalities within the team as well, so if she’s not there for whatever reason, there are other players that will bring her drive to the team.”
Charli Grant then had the chance to answer the media's questions, after arriving at camp later ahead of the France game, the defender missed out on two training sessions with the team at QSAC after illness kept her sidelined.
"It's really nice to finally be part of it full time, took me a while to get into camp and then I was a bit sick. So it's nice to be back up and running." Grant explained.
"She's (Sam Kerr) so positive, even when it happened she made sure we were all focused on the game and weren't distracted."
"She was such a huge leader in that game against Ireland. I think we still (have) got top-class players as our forwards."
" I think, yeah Sam’s one of the best players in the world. It gives more opportunities to different players. Of course, we want Sam out there but she's just going to give lots of energy to those girls that are playing her role."
FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ - Group B Matchday 2
Australia v Nigeria
Date: 27 July 2023
Venue: Brisbane Stadium
Kick-off Time: 8:00 pm (AEST)
Watch: Live on Channel 7 and the 7Plus app
FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ - Group B Matchday 3
Canada v Australia
Date: 31 July 2023
Venue: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
Kick-off Time: 8:00 pm (AEST)
Watch: Live on Channel 7 and the 7Plus app