But it’s not working as well for them now as it did in the opening 20 minutes.
Australia are looking better now: faster to press, more coordinated on the ball, calmer in possession.
They’re trying to pass their way out of pressure a lot, which makes sense given the opponents they’ll be facing in Paris. It works sometimes, but not always. Alanna Kennedy in particular looks a little slow to make decisions, while Ellie Carpenter has been kept pretty quiet so far, forced to sit deeper and defend instead of bombing forward in the way we know she can.
Clare Wheeler has been terrific at left-back so far, I must say. She’s played there quite a lot for Everton, so it’s no surprise, but this is Canada we’re talking about, and she’s not put a foot wrong so far.
