Sam Kerr STARTS for Australia against England as Matildas chase World Cup final spot in Sydney – but one other big name is out

Sam Kerr will start the semi-final of the World Cup in Australia against England on Wednesday evening, but Alanna Kennedy will miss due to illness.

Tony Gustavsson made two changes to the side in Brisbane on Saturday that beat France 7-6 on penalties to reach the semi-finals for the first time, with Kerr joining Emily Van Egmond and Kennedy replaced by Claire Polkinghorne.

Concern over Kerr’s fitness was a recurring theme for the Matildas throughout the tournament, after she injured her left calf on 19 July, a day before the opener of the Australian tournament against the Republic of Ireland.

The Chelsea forward missed all three group stage games as a result, but came off the bench for the last 10 minutes in their 2-0 win over Denmark in the Round of 16.

Kerr was introduced with 55 minutes played in the quarter-final against France on Saturday and converted her penalty in the shoot-out.

Kerr has only played 75 minutes in this World Cup so far, but converted one of Australia’s penalties in the 7-6 win over France in the quarter-final

On Tuesday, however, she was spotted wearing an ice pack on her right calf as she walked back to the team hotel with her teammates after practice.

A day earlier, the 29-year-old revealed she had shrugged off the calf injury she suffered in training for the tournament, but revealed the plan was always to get her fit for the semi-finals.

“When I hurt my calf, the plan was always to (try to) be ready for a semi-final, the final.

“So I could have started against France, but who knows what could have happened?

“The girls crushed it and absolutely dominated.

“I was ready to go, but we had a plan this whole tournament and we had to stick to it.

“That was part of the plan, to get 20 minutes against Denmark to feel better for this game and now with another, what, 65 minutes, it makes me feel better and have more training under my belt.

So I feel ready to go. I think with everything that’s going on, the best thing for (the game against France) was the plan we did and the plan we followed.”

At his press conference on Tuesday, Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson remained coy when asked if Kerr would be fit enough to start at Stadium Australia on Wednesday night.

“She (Kerr) pushed through more minutes than we hoped to be honest,” he said.

“One of the reasons we kept her on the bench was that we weren’t sure how many minutes she had to come back from that calf injury, but also the limited training minutes she had.

“The way she persevered was fantastic and impressive, both mentally and physically.

“She’s recovered well, she trained today so she’s available.”

Alanna Kennedy will miss the game against England due to illness

Tony Gustavsson was tight-lipped about Kerr’s fitness throughout the tournament

Gustavsson confirmed that all 23 players in the squad were available for selection, but admitted he faced some ‘tough decisions’ before naming his starting squad for the semi-finals.

“There’s another meeting tonight to see the best starting 11 and the best finishing 11 and whether we plan 90 minutes or schedule extra time and decisions like that,” he said.

“Tough decisions will be made again tonight, but Sam is definitely available for selection.”