There was drama late at the Stade des Alpes, when a Brazil goal in the simultaneous Group C clash put the Matildas on course for a third-place finish – and with it a far tougher road to the latter stages of the tournament.
But Kerr’s fourth goal would prove decisive, lifting Australia ahead of Brazil into second place – and with it a Round of 16 encounter with Norway.
Here are five things we learned from the Australians’ 4-1 win over Jamaica.
1. Super Sammy Kerr.
There are hardly enough superlatives to describe Australia’s taliswoman.
“She’s phenomenal,” said team-mate Chloe Logarzo.
“She’s a super hero,” chimed Steph Catley.
“We, as the Australian footballing community, should be thankful that we are witnessing one of the best players in the world live,” offered Matildas boss Ante Milicic.
On Tuesday, Kerr became the first Australian – male or female – to score a hat-trick at the World Cup. She then went one better.
“At the time I didn’t know how important [the fourth goal] was,” said the Perth Glory striker.
“I actually wanted more than that after myself, being my selfish self. I knew every goal would count and I am just happy we could get that second spot.”
2. A silver lining for Jamaica
The Reggae Girlz exit France without a point, but the Jamaicans at least can take solace from having scored their first ever World Cup goal.
Early in the second half Khadija Shaw slotted a ball through to Havana Solaun, who rounded Lydia Williams and fired home – to an explosion of approval from the crowd in Grenoble.
“We probably should have scored some more, too,” claimed Jamaican coach Hue Menzies afterwards.
“We wanted to get that deep run through the midfield,” he continued.
“In the first half we only had a few of those, in the second half we went back with it and Bunny [Shaw] played that great ball in and Solaun executed. It’s a good feeling.”
Milicic was full of praise for the Jamaicans.
“It’s a fantastic story for them,” said the Matildas manager. “I actually said to the coach – I was pleased they had a go, that they wanted to score, that they wanted to attack.
“In their region – if they can continue on with some funding and investment and play more games and get their players in a professional environment, they definitely have ways to move forward.”
3. Roestbakken makes an impression, will more youngsters follow?
Despite a few shaky early moments, 18-year-old Karly Roestbakken ultimately put in an assured performance in the back-line as she earned her second Matildas cap – after debuting in the dying minutes against Brazil.
Milicic was full of praise for the Canberra United player afterwards.
“She came in in difficult circumstances, unfortunately Laura Alleway got injured, and she’s come in and really understood her role in the team,” he said.
“I liked what I saw from her in training – I think she has some excellent qualities,” Milicic continued. “She was a big chance to start against Brazil the other night, but to be honest we thought it was just too much, too soon in such a big game.
“She has been fantastic around the group, and tonight I had no hesitation to put her in. I think it is my duty as well as a coach to give some of these young ones a chance and [Roestbakken] benefited from that tonight.”
Despite foreshadowing her potential use as an impact substitute before the match, Milicic did not turn to 16-year-old prodigy Mary Fowler.
“We had young Mary available tonight on the bench,” he said after the match. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to bring her on.”
After Karly’s strong performance, could we see more youngsters – including Fowler – blooded against Norway?
4. Norway next, England to come?
Australia will face Norway – the Grasshoppers – on Saturday evening in Nice (5am Sunday AEST – live, free and in HD on SBS) in the Round of 16.
“I haven’t watched [Norway] in a coaching sense,” admitted Milicic. “Obviously that process starts tonight when we get back.”
Kerr was excited to be facing the 1995 World Cup winners.
“I have heard Nice is beautiful,” she said in the post-match mixed zone.
“We are excited, we have played Norway a few times. They are a good European-based team.”
If Australia beat the Norwegians, they face a possible quarter-final clash with the highly-rated England.
5. Fitness concerns
The Matildas looked leggy at times in warm Grenoble conditions.
With just three clear days until the Round of 16 clash on Saturday, Milicic highlighted his concerns about the team’s fitness – and the advantage Norway have with an extra-day’s rest.
“To be honest I looked at our players tonight and a few of them I thought looked a little bit fatigued at times,” he said.
“The extra day [for Norway] means a lot but this team won’t look at that as a negative or make excuses.”
Usual starters Tameka Yallop, Clare Polkinghorne and Elise Kellond-Knight all missed the Jamaica game, the first two due lingering injuries and the latter due to fatigue.
Milicic thought all three would be available for the Norway clash.
“So it’s looking a bit more positive in that area, and it needs to be – to go deep in the tournament you need your players available.”
Kieran Pender is covering the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup for The World Game. Follow him on Twitter: @KieranPender.
