Two second half goals have seen the Westfield Matildas beat Japan 2-0 on Friday morning, boosting the teams chances of winning the Tournament of Nations.
After a lacklustre first half, Australia showed their class after the break with Alanna Kennedy and Sam Kerr grabbing the goals at Toyota Park in Chicago. The team, coached by Alen Stajcic must now wait to see the result in the USA v Brazil clash later on Friday to find out if they will retain their Tournament of Nations crown.
USA, currently on four points, must beat the South Americans by at least two goals to finish at the top of the group on goal difference ahead of Australia. Knowing they needed a multiple goal win to boost their chances to win the tournament, Australia failed to fire in a first half lacking clear cut chances. Returning to the field after the half time break, the team wasted little time in turning the match around. Kennedy fired Australia into the lead within two minutes of the restart with a piercing free-kick from just outside the box.
The Westfield Matildas dominated from then on, with Kerr denied by both the post and the keeper at different stages before scoring the decisive second goal of the match. The classy striker used her pace to get to the ball just before Japan’s keeper and finished calmly into an empty net to ice the result with nine minutes left.
The Westfield Matildas will now watch the USA’s game against Brazil to discover if they are the 2018 Tournament of Nations winners.
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