Women’s World Cup 2023 team guides part five: Australia | Women’s World Cup 2023: Guardian Experts’ Network
This article is a part of the Guardian’s Women’s World Cup 2023 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between among the finest media organisations from the 32 nations who certified. theguardian.com is working previews from two nations every day within the run-up to the event kicking off on 20 July. Overview By no means earlier than has there been extra pre-tournament pleasure surrounding an Australian nationwide soccer group. A World Cup on house soil, a squad boasting a golden technology of gamers and an encouraging run of sustained good kind have piqued curiosity and heightened anticipation in a rustic the place soccer normally struggles for relevance. Led by their talismanic captain, Sam Kerr, the group have despatched expectations hovering, however it hasn’t at all times been so with Tony Gustavsson on the helm. Defensive frailties blighted the coach’s early tenure and, regardless of a fourth-place end on the Tokyo Olympics, a disastrous exit on the quarter-final stage of the 2022 Asian Cup raised questions in regards to the Swede’s means to mount a reputable World Cup problem. Australia’s shirt Gustavsson has sought to maneuver past a “simply give it to Kerr” mentality and tried to keep away…