But with no Team GB and no Sweden – both failed to qualify – Australia are one of the genuine contenders. A few weeks ago, the absence of Sam Kerr was viewed as the biggest hurdle to clear. The captain and striker will still leave a significant void, but Gustavsson’s selection of Heyman for these decisive qualifiers has added an additional movement to the attacking concerto.
She is not the only one – Torpey’s output over these two games have catapulted her firmly into calculations. The 23-year-old has two international appearances, two starts and one goal (on top of the Uzbekistan own goal). On Wednesday, she added a couple of assists to her repertoire.
Kaitlyn Torpey staked her claim for inclusion in the team going to Paris.Credit: Eddie Jim
And if we are persisting with the music parlance, this was a collective performance befitting the very recent tour of a certain very famous artist. The Tillies had spent the lead-up in Melbourne filming fun TikToks to Taylor Swift songs, and on the field their goals covered all 10 of the Eras. The crossover of both cultural phenomena was noticeable among the faithful in the sold-out stands.
Once senses that, had Gustavsson not made wholesale changes at the break, the scoreline might have blown out even more wildly. The second half lacked the near-telepathic understanding of the first, after Heyman, Gorry, Foord and Ellie Carpenter made way for Amy Sayer, Emily van Egmond, Hayley Raso and Tameka Yallop. Charli Grant replaced Steph Catley some time later.
But it made a nice moment for Raso, who has been struggling for minutes at Real Madrid but scored with 20 minutes remaining and blew the figurative smoke from her finger guns, before Sayer added the final flourish with her first international goal.
“This is the last of a long process,” said stand-in captain Catley. “Through the qualification process we have played good football and challenged ourselves. We have scored goals and kept clean sheets, so everything we set out to do we have done. It’s a proud moment for us to get to another Olympics.
“The team is hungry to win something. Now we have qualified for the Olympics there will be a lot of steps in place to make sure that we are ready to go, and challenge as far as we can get, and get something out of the tournament.”
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