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Australia and the Republic of Ireland served up a tense Group B opener from which the Super Falcons of Nigeria have plenty to learn
Co-hosts Australia kicked off their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win against the Republic of Ireland thanks to Stephanie Catley’s 52nd-minute penalty.
The Matildas were without all-time topscorer and taliswoman, Sam Kerr who has been ruled out of the first two games with a calf injury.
Despite their massive loss which was announced just before kickoff, Australia displayed a lot of hear and many other qualities that shows they are not just a one-woman team.
While the Republic of Ireland displayed exemplary resolve and solidity for most of the game in the FIFA Women’s World Cup debut.
75,784 fans watched on at Stadium Australia in Sydney while millions more followed from around the world but none would have followed more keenly than the two other teams in Group B, Canada and Nigeria.
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The Super Falcons will get their own curtain raiser against Canada on Friday (3:30 am Nigerian time) but would have still kept a close eye on their next two opponents after the Canadians.
Here are four lessons from Australia v Republic of Ireland that could prove beneficial to Randy Waldrum and his Super Falcons when they play against both teams in Group B of the 2023/24 FIFA Women’s World Cup, an opposition scouting report if you will.
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13:18 - 20.07.2023
Australia women opens their 2023 Women’s World Cup campaign with a win
Australia women secure their first win in the 2023 Women’s World Cup tournament by defeating Ireland 1-0.
4 lessons for the Super Falcons to learn from Australia v Ireland
Australia’s first phase of play
The game was not a particularly exciting one, there was not a lot of goalmouth action if any, both teams combined for three shots on target, which tells the full story.
However, the drab nature of the game does allow for patterns to be spotted much easier, especially Australia’s build-up style.
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The Matildas had 63% possession which rightly implies that the onus to create was on them while the Republic of Ireland prioritised defence for most of the game.
Australia tried many different approaches to breaking down the stubborn green wall, with Hayley Raso’s inventiveness in wide areas knocking on the door but ultimately proving ineffective.
The co-hosts did have success in their first phase build-up, creating chances from deep areas through their centre-backs and central midfielders, one of which led to the penalty that provided the game’s only goal.
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So if the Super Falcons intend to simply sit back with a deep block against Australia on Thursday, July 27, Randy Waldrum better be aware of The Matildas’ ability to bypass it with precise and accurate long passing.
And when chances are not automatically generated off their long balls, they simply win the second balls and recycle the offensive sequence.
Ireland’s defensive rearguard
Even though Ireland lost, the Girls in Green put up a solid defensive performance and quite frankly would have ended with a draw at least if Australia had not gotten a penalty.
The Irish setup of 3-4-3 is really just a five-woman defence with Megan Connolly, Louise Quinn and Niamh Fahey as the centre-backs with a combined age of 94 years.
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They were flanked by Heather Payne and Katie McCabe in a defensive setup that looked impregnable for 90 minutes.
This should be a source of concern for Randy Waldrum, whose Super Falcons team have struggled to find the back of the net and found it difficult to break down opposition defences.
The positive side from a Nigerian perspective is that they don’t play against Ireland till Monday, July 31st, which is plenty of time to figure a way past the Irish wall.
Ireland’s counter-attacking threat
While the Irish team defended in numbers, they also maintained a counter-attacking threat that kept the hosts honest.
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A bit more precision in the final third would have done the Republic of Ireland a world of good in this game but it seems like the kind of thing that they can improve upon as the tournament progresses.
Ireland love a good breakaway, Nigeria have to be aware of that and be wary to not get caught out by it.
There is hope for the Super Falcons
Nigeria enters the FIFA Women’s World Cup as the lowest-ranked team in Group B, expected to crash out in the group stages but the first game in the group would have gone a long way to restore some hope.
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Ireland who are World Cup debutants and ranked 22nd in the world looked on par with number 10–ranked co-hosts Australia.
The game showed that the quality gap in this group is not as wide as it looked pre-tournament and Nigeria have as good a chance as anyone to advance to the second round.
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