In the aftermath of the Matildas’ lightning-in-a-bottle 2023 Women’s World Cup, Football Australia adopted a new tagline, one to capture and retain the newly enraptured believers: ‘Til It’s Done. It was meant to convey momentum, to signify that 2023 didn’t represent the final destination, but just one step on a larger story. And while 2024’s calamitous Paris Olympics campaign meant that the footballing mortality of the group has increasingly hung over them like a growing black cloud, and their failure to top the group in their home Women’s Asian Cup rang more alarm bells, Friday evening’s 2-1 win over North Korea in the quarter-finals of the latter tournament ensured that, somehow, by the skin of their teeth and the mercy of the footballing gods, this group of Matildas aren’t done yet. Even if the balance of play suggests they should be.
Simply put, the North Koreans dominated at Perth Oval. On another night, their 62% possession with 23 shots to four (10 on target to two) would see them score a flood of goals and move on instead. On a different evening, their suffocating press and complete and utter control of the midfield born from neat passing and technical nous would force Mackenzie Arnold and the Matildas’ warrior-like defence to crack under the sheer weight of possession and territory. On an alternative eve, Alanna Kennedy and Sam Kerr wouldn’t smuggle howitzers in their left boots, allowing Yu Son-Gum to deny them and keep the game even. But as it turns out, this day was, instead, the one time in 50 that the Matildas won this game.
