WATCH Norway v Australia FIFA Women's World Cup round of 16 clash LIVE, FREE and in HD on SBS from 4:25am (AEST) Sunday morning or stream live via The World Game website / app.
Six points in the group stage has been tremendous. The most we have accumulated in any World Cup.
Whether or not the performances have been perfect does not make any difference now we are into the business end of the tournament. A win is a win and that’s all the counts.
Our performances have been brilliant in some patches but disjointed in others. The flow of Norway will test us but in turn our attack will be hard to contend with at full pace for Norway.
Being able to stop Sam Kerr, Hayley Raso and Caitlin Foord at full flight will be a huge task for the Norwegians. They will try to outmuscle us in our front third but really ... who can stop the aerial dominance of Kerr?
Our most worrying area of weakness ultimately, is our most dangerous strength. Being a very mobile team moving forward can also mean a lack of cover in transition when we lose possession. The ball can move quicker than anyone running and that keeps us open for counter attack opportunities for Norway.
Our right side often gets overloaded moving forward and when you have players from your back line in your front line it’s difficult to recover in time.
The fact we have had so many problems with injuries has put pressure on our players to play in positions that are not in the best interests of the team. But all players can provide strong service to our strikers and when we play with confidence our ability to break down even the strongest of defensive lines is achievable.
The passing accuracy of Alanna Kennedy and Steph Catley alone is testimony to that. If we can be more adventurous with our ball speed and midfielders facing forward, then the Norway’s defence will part like any other.
When you look at our record against Norway there has been significant strides in our confidence against this country.
In China 2007, Lisa De Vanna announced herself on the world stage, as she carved up a Norway defence and saved a point against all odds. In 2011 we came from 1-0 down to see Kyah Simon step to plate and find three points for her country.
I dare say that we no longer fear the Scandinavians. It’s them who will fear us.
