Australia will make a late call on captain Sam Kerr’s fitness for their Women’s World Cup showdown with France.
Chelsea striker Kerr missed the group stage with a calf injury but came off the bench for the final 10 minutes in the round-of-16 victory over Denmark.
Australia boss Tony Gustavsson must now decide whether Kerr is fit to start Saturday’s quarter-final date with Les Bleues at Brisbane Stadium.
“If Sam is fit to play 90 minutes, she is starting,” Gustavsson said at his pre-match press conference.
“That’s not even a question, and the team knows it.
“I definitely would never, ever see Sam as a disturbance to the team. We’re talking about Sam Kerr.
“Whether she is ready to play 90 minutes plus extra time, that’s to be decided tonight.”
Australia have coped well without all-time top scorer Kerr, scoring six goals in their past two matches – following up a 4-0 win over Canada in their final group game with a 2-0 success against Denmark.
It has been an impressive response to the shock 3-2 defeat by Nigeria that threatened their participation in the knockout stages of a home tournament.
“I look at all the preparation we’ve done over the last few weeks but being ready doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy,” said former United States assistant coach Gustavsson.
“I had the privilege to be in five quarter-finals before this one in three Olympics and two World Cups and you get unhealthily addicted to these types of games.
“This is what you love, this is what you want. I am so happy that the players will get this experience and we will embrace every second of it.”
France, ranked fifth in the world and five places above Australia, have scored 12 goals in three games since opening with a goalless draw against Jamaica.
Brazil (2-1) and Panama (6-3) were beaten in the group stage before Morocco were brushed aside 4-0 in the last 16.
Gustavsson said: “They have proved over this tournament that they have extreme attacking threats: central, left and right.
“They attack with numbers and are brave, technical and fast.
“The one thing they have instilled in this tournament is the work ethic when they lose the ball.
“They are extremely aggressive when they lose the ball, so you get very little time when you win it.
“That’s probably the extra they have over us and that’s going to be the number one challenge to sort.
“But what we have proven is that our defensive structure and defensive work rate has been enormous – we have kept five clean sheets in our last six games – and we have also been very composed in front of goal.
“Once we do break that pressure we know how fast we can attack and one moment can decide the game.”
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
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