Australia 2, Norway 1

In a winner take all battle for a quarterfinal berth, Australia defeated Norway 2-1 in a tense Group D match in Leverkusen. And it was the scoring touch of Kyah Simon that produced both goals for the Matildas.

Both teams made changes in their lineup for this match. Australia elected to get as much speed and offense into their lineup as possible, starting Caitlin Foord at right back, and the forward duo of Lisa De Vanna and Kyah Simon, with another forward, Samantha Kerr on the wing.

Norway moved Trine Ronning to the back line, starting Gry Tofte Ims and Lene Mykjaland in the midfield and Cecilie Pedersen at forward with Madeleine Giske, Nora Berge, and Isabell Herlovsen on the bench.

Norway held the early advantage in pressure and scoring chances, in fact for much of the first half. At the quarter hour mark, Norway were buzzing around the Australian penalty area, with Pedersen eventually blasting a shot from 12 yards. It appeared that Kim Carroll's cleat was the only thing that kept the ball from going into the net, as the Australian defender may just have gotten a piece of it.

Australia's first real effort was a long distance shot by Samantha Kerr which went harmlessly over the crossbar.

In the 26th minute, Norwegian keeper Ingrid Hjelmseth jumped to catch a high cross and landed awkwardly, apparently hurting her ankle. While she soldiered on for the remainder of the first half, she was replaced by Erika Skarbo at the intermission.

One of Norway's problems in the first two matches was putting shots on frame. Elise Thorsnes attempted to rectify that with three hard shots on goal within just a few minutes of the first half. But Matilda goalie Melissa Barbieri was able to stop and smother every shot. Thorsnes was certainly the most dangerous player on the pitch in the first half.

Australia took one other shot from distance by De Vanna at the end of the half, but Hjelmseth caught the ball easily. The game went to halftime scoreless. Norway made two changes at the half, the aforementioned Skarbo for Hjelmseth switch and Kristine Hegland came in for Emilie Haavi who had played well, but had been nursing an injury.

Norway pressured to start the second half in an attempt to get the lead. But their goal came on a very innocuous looking play. A long ball was played by Ingvild Stensland with the ball rolling toward the Australian penalty area. Barbieri, got to the edge of the box and decided to wait for the ball rather than going forward and kicking it clear. Thorsnes stepped around a defender, intercepted the ball directly in front of Barbieri and safely deposited it into the net. Norway had the lead they needed to advance in the 56th minute.

But the lead lasted less than a minute. Australia worked the ball up the left side where Ronning appeared to gain possession for Norway in the corner. But De Vanna deftly dispossessed the Norwegian defender, dribbled inside the box on the left side, and centered the ball to Kyah Simon who was just left of the penalty mark. Simon couldn't have been more accurate as she placed her shot in the lower right corner of the net with Skarbo having no chance. The game was now even again.

In the 67th minute, Australia threatened as Heather Garriock crossed from the left side. With both Kerr for Australia and Maren Mjelde for Norway charging toward the net, Skarbo was somehow able to make a sliding save to clear the ball out and preserve the tie.

Australia had another chance just three minutes later as De Vanna dispossessed another Norwegian defender, this time Guro Mienna. She passed the ball to the left of the box, but this time Simon's shot went wide of the right post.

Norway desperately tried to regain the lead. Ronning headed a Stensland corner kick over the bar in the 76th minute, followed by Pedersen's 16 yard shot going wide of the net just a minute later. But they came closest in the 84th minute, when it looked like they had retaken the lead.

Norway was awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area and Trine Ronning took the kick. Her shot from 22 yards hit the bottom of the crossbar almost in the upper left corner, but it did not go in and Australia was able to clear.

Australia put the game away in the 87th minute. Second half substitute Laura Alleway chased the ball down in the right corner and passed it to Kim Carroll who was about 28 yards out on the right wing. Carroll one-timed it into to the six-yard box dead center and Simon headed the ball home for her second goal of the match.

The match ended 2-1 for Australia and the Matildas were through to the quarterfinals, finishing in 2nd place in Group D. They will now face Sweden, who defeated the United States in Group C action today.

Group D Preview: Australia

Australia (#11)
Region: AFC
Coach: Tom Sermanni
How They Qualified: Won the Asian Cup in May, 2010.
Prior Cups:
2007: Lost in Quarterfinals
2003: Group Stage
1999: Group Stage
1995: Group Stage
1991: DNQ
Returnees from 2007 WWC: (8) Barbieri, Williams, Colthorpe, Garriock, McCallum, Polkinghorne, Shipard, De Vanna.

Roster (Average Age: 22.39)

Name	Pos	Club	Age	Caps/Goals
Melissa Barbieri	GK	Melbourne Victory	31	76/0
Casey Dumont	GK	Brisbane Roar	19	0/0
Lydia Williams	GK	Canberra Utd.	23	25/0
Teigen Allen	DF	Sydney FC	17	8/0
Laura Alleway	DF	Brisbane Roar	21	2/0
Kim Carroll	DF	Brisbane Roar	23	39/2
Elise Kellond-Knight	DF	Brisbane Roar	20	20/0
Ellyse Perry	DF	Canberra Utd.	20	13/2
Servet Uzunlar	DF	Sydney FC	22	21/1
Tameka Butt	MF	Brisbane Roar	20	20/1
Lauren Colthorpe	MF	Brisbane Roar	25	50/7
Heather Garriock	MF	LdB FC Malmo	28	120/21
Collette McCallum	MF	Perth Glory	25	63/9
Clare Polkinghorne	MF	Brisbane Roar	22	44/2
Sally Shipard	MF	Canberra Utd.	23	53/4
Emily Van Egmond	MF	Canberra Utd.	17	4/0
Lisa De Vanna	FW	magicJack	26	66/24
Caitlin Foord	FW	Sydney FC	16	1/1
Samantha Kerr	FW	Perth Glory	17	14/3
Leena Khamis	FW	Sydney FC	25	17/4
Kyah Simon	FW	Sydney FC	20	25/5

Recent Matches:

Date	Opponent	Competition	Result
6/23/11	England	Friendly	W 2-0
6/20/11	Mexico	Friendly	W 3-2
5/15/11	New Zealand	Friendly	W 2-1
5/12/11	New Zealand	Friendly	W 3-0
10/28/10	Germany	Friendly	L 1-2
10/23/10	Korea Republic	Peace Cup	L 1-2
10/19/10	Chinese Taipei	Peace Cup	W 1-0
10/17/10	Mexico	Peace Cup	W 3-1
5/30/10	Korea DPR	Asian Cup	W 1-1 (5-4pk)
5/27/10	Japan	Asian Cup	W 1-0
5/23/10	China	Asian Cup	L 0-1
5/21/10	Korea Republic	Asian Cup	W 3-1
5/19/10	Vietnam	Asian Cup	W 2-0

Australia made it as far as the semifinals in 2007, before losing to Brazil 3-2. They return only eight players from that team and this year’s team is a fairly young squad with an average age of just over 22. This will be their fifth World Cup.

Australia qualified by winning a very tough and very competitive Asian Cup, featuring a strong AFC field that included Korea DPR, Japan, China, and the Korea Republic. They won the championship game of that tournament in penalty kicks over Korea DPR, in spite of missing top scorer Lisa De Vanna, who broke her leg earlier in that competition.

Since then, they have competed in the Peace Cup, winning their first two matches over Mexico and Taipei, before a disappointing loss to the Korea Republic. They then suffered a narrow loss to Germany 2-1, becoming one of the few teams that have played the Germans that closely. Their schedule for 2011 has been light to this point, with only four friendlies being played, two against neighboring New Zealand and matches this past week against Mexico and England. Australia won all four.

But perhaps the biggest news for Australia did not occur at one of their matches, but in the Swedish Damallsvenskan, where Kate Gill suffered a torn ACL in a late April match for Linkopings. Injuries are certainly a part of soccer, but this was surely one of the harshest blows dealt to any team. Gill is the current AFC Women’s Player of the Year and a leader on the Australian team. She will be missed at this year’s World Cup.

While Australia will miss Gill’s leadership and presence, the Matildas are deep at forward and as a group, they may be able to somewhat compensate for her absence. Australia has several talented young forwards including Kyah Simon, Samantha Kerr, and 16-year old Caitlin Ford who recently scored in her debut against New Zealand. They also have Leena Khamis, another dependable forward who has played exceedingly well in the Australian W-League.

Then there is Lisa De Vanna, who has scored 24 career goals for the Matildas and plays for magicJack in the WPS. While it sometimes appears that De Vanna marches to the beat of a different drummer, there can be no doubting her ability on the pitch. She is one of the fastest, most dangerous forwards in the world. She scored four goals in just four matches in the 2007 World Cup, including a late game-tying goal against Norway in the group stage.

Australia features a very experienced midfield with veterans Heather Garriock, Collette McCallum, and Lauren Colthorpe. Garriock has over 120 caps for the Matildas and has played in the last two World Cups. McCallum is a consistent player, who usually sets up her teammates, but can score as well. She recently scored twice in a friendly against England.

The defense is very young, with the oldest player being 23-year old Kim Carroll. Carroll is a steady defender and can be counted on to lead the back line. Other mainstays on the back line include Servet Uzunlar and Elise Kellond-Knight.

Melissa Barbieri, the senior member of the Matildas, is their number one goalkeeper and has been for many years. Her experience should help calm the youthful defense in front of her. She gave up just two goals in her three starts at the Asian Cup. Lydia Williams is a dependable backup and the Matilda’s starter of the future.

The Aussies will need fortitude entering this tournament without Gill. They recently showed their composure after falling behind 2-0 against Mexico and coming back for a 3-2 victory. They will face two tough, veteran teams in Brazil and Norway, plus Equatorial Guinea in the group stage. It will be interesting to see if they can advance to the quarterfinals.

Note: Some information for this article was obtained from www.fifa.com, www.the-afc.com, and www.footballaustralia.com.au.