Anthony Albanese makes a big mistake in his pre-game message to the Matildas ahead of the crucial World Cup game in Canada
- The World Cup in Australia is at stake
- The Prime Minister has issued a statement of support
- Made a crucial blunder in his Tweet
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared his support for Sam Kerr and the Matildas ahead of their final group game tonight – but he had apparently forgotten that the Aussie superstar is not leading against Canada.
The Australian Prime Minister took to Twitter to issue a seemingly innocent statement of support for the Matildas just ahead of their deadly clash against Canada in their final Women’s World Cup group stage match in Melbourne.
‘All of Australia will be cheering on @TheMatildas tonight, led by the amazing @samkerr1 as we take on Canada. We are with you all #Tilitsdone,” the prime minister tweeted.
The problem? Kerr has an extremely high chance of playing tonight due to her ongoing calf injury and Steph Catley will lead the side.
The Matildas captain missed the first two group stage matches, including the victory over the Republic of Ireland and the shock loss to Nigeria.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been panned for congratulating Sam Kerr on leading the Matildas tonight, despite the fact that she is very unlikely to play
Kerr’s injured calf was still badly strapped today and she failed to warm up with her teammates ahead of the World Cup win against Canada
It had been hoped she would play in the final group game which will decide who progresses to the knockout stages of the tournament, but she was relegated to the bench.
Kerr was spotted with her calf heavily strapped on game day, coach Tony Gustavsson declined to say if she had trained today and the Aussie skipper failed to warm up with the rest of the team before the game in a sign she will only are used when absolutely necessary.
Fans were quick to accuse Mr Albanese of his blunder.
“They’re not going to lead Sam Kerr at all, she’s starting on the bench,” replied one backed.
“Sam didn’t even warm up,” another posted.
“You know what happened to her,” another asked.
The winner of the match moves on while the loser’s World Cup is over.
If the result is a draw, the Matildas will still need a lot of goals to overcome their loss to Nigeria to go through.
Substitutes Clare Polkinghorne, Kyah Simon, Lydia Williams and Tameka Yallop are the only remaining players from the last time the Matildas beat Canada.
Canada has won its last three encounters against Australia, including a pair of friendlies last September and a 2-0 defeat at the 2016 Olympics.
The last time Australia beat Canada was in 2008 when Amy Chapman and Caitlin Munoz were the goalscorers in a 2-1 result.