The superstar Norway must stop

GRENOBLE (VG) (Jamaica – Australia 1-4) More than anyone, there is a player that Norway must stop at the Allianz Riviera in Nice next Saturday: Sam Kerr is an Australian phenomenon.

The 25-year-old scored four goals when Jamaica was beaten 4-1 at Grenoble. Australia was not particularly good, with the exception of Sam Kerr, the big hero when the players are walking in the Stade des Alpes to be greeted by their supporters.

Australia was likely to meet the host country, France, in the next round, but Kerr's fourth goal was won by Norway in Nice.

At her first two World Cups, she did not score a goal and VG asked her if it was a bad sign for Norway that she has now found goals.

– I hope so. We have a lot of players who can score, but it's always good for a team when the attacker succeeds.

– What do you know about Norway in particular?

– They have good players, but we live on the other side of the world, so I do not know much.

– What do you remember about your last meeting with Norway?

– I remember we met them at the World Cup in 2011 and we won 2 to 1, she said.

Kerr, 17, played when Norway was sent after the group stage, while Australia qualified for the quarterfinals (as at the last three World Cups). Ingrid Hjelmseth, Maren Mjelde, Elise Thorsnes and Isabell Herlovsen were also on the course.

But Sam Kerr and Australia have met Norway again during a training match in Portugal 16 months ago. Australia won 4-3, but when VG asks Kerr to say something that she remembers from this game, against much of this year's World Cup, the match is totally empty. She does not remember the fight.

– You even scored?

– Yeah, you see.

Asked if she can name it some Norwegian players, Kerr responds quickly with a wink, as if to say that "I have impressed".

– Hensen. This is a good footballer.

It remains to be seen if Australia has to fight with Caroline Graham Hansen. Even Pellerud was not scared anyway, according to Grenoble-posted by the head of the national team, Martin Sjögren.

"A quick fight." Australia is obsessed with an uneven obsession, with a winning match at Kerr, but there is stretching in the team – it's a team we can beat. ! "Said Pellerud at VG at the break, who was in the VIP stand of the Olympic city from 1968, when FIFA President Gianni Infantino took a break from the ongoing scandal in Qatar.

At 25 degrees, Australia impressed no one against Jamaica with a score of 0 to 8 after two games. Matildas, as they are called, seemed cluttered, made a lot of careless mistakes, the midfielder had big holes and the team backed visibly weakened by injuries.

But Sam Kerr impressed everyone. She nodded in both goals before the break and in the second half, she scored the 3-1 goal, before continuing 4-1 after the big job of Jamaica goalkeeper Nicole McClure.

With a very special stage and brilliant excitement, Kerr made the difference between the teams. Considered one of the best in the world, she was eighth in FIFA 's "Best" rally last year (dominated by Marta from Brazil) and is the top scorer for Australian and American professionals, even though she was not the best. It should be emphasized that "the time" is not very far back.

The W-League in Australia had its first season in 2008-09 and the new National Women's Football League was created in 2012. Kerr scored 61 goals in the US and 70 in Australia. He now plays for the Chicago Red Stars and for Perth Glory. The teams are unified and eleven players of the Australian World Cup have a dual club address.

– Kerr is one of the most popular football players in Australia, men and women. People like her honesty, her behavior, there is no filter, she is what she is, and that's why she is so appreciated, says David Basheer, commenting on the struggles for SBS Australia.

Sam Kerr is the first Australian player to have won more than one million Australian dollars (about six million Norwegian kroner), thanks to a lucrative deal with Nike. She is the number one poster, with Ben Simmons, American basketball star, Jason Day, one of the world's best golfers and Premier League players, Aaron Mooy and Mat Ryan (Mooy eliminated with Huddersfield, Ryan is the guardian of Brighton).

Matildas, as we call the national team, are favorites in the home country and sixth in the world rankings. It is a powerful and physically strong crew. But the entry into the World Cup was weak and very variable in the group stage, the shift to Brazil (0-2 to 3-2) being clearly the most impressive.

The team is struggling with the loss of veteran Laura Alleway, who had to retire just three days before the start of the World Cup. Alleway was scheduled to play his third World Cup.

Karly Roestbakken, 18, was put to the defense of Jamaica. Even Pellerud noted that Roestbakken could be a weak point.