- Alanna Kennedy couldn’t hide her frustrations in Marseille
- The defender missed a golden opportunity against the US
- Matildas’ Olympic campaign hangs by a thread
Alanna Kennedy summed up what every Matildas fan is thinking after the Aussies failed to secure an improbable victory over the United States in Marseille, then were knocked out of the Paris Games when Canada beat Colombia.
The Matildas’ Olympic Games were on the line after their 2-1 defeat in the early hours of Thursday morning, with Tony Gustavsson’s team depending on results elsewhere to progress to the knockout stages.
But those results failed to materialise as Colombia decided the Aussies’ fate by losing 1-0 to Canada.
Trailing by two goals and in injury time against the Americans, Gustavsson sent the level-headed defender Kennedy forward and she scored the consolation goal, giving the Aussies some hope.
But moments later the tall defender missed a glorious chance to level the scores and she knew immediately that she had blown the chance to send her country through.
“Fuck me, Alanna,” Kennedy appeared to mutter after her shot went wide.
Australia needs Colombia and France to draw or beat Canada and New Zealand respectively to safely progress to the last eight and avoid Olympic humiliation.
An early exit would be a huge damper on the highs of last year’s Women’s World Cup, when Gustavsson led the team to the semi-finals.
More to follow.