SYDNEY (23 June 2015) – Alen Stajcic has described the experience of beating Brazil at the FIFA Women’s World Cup exhilirating but insisted Austrralia are not finished creating history at the tournament.
The Matildas progressed to the quarter-finals after Kyah Simon’s late goal gave them a 1-0 win over the Samba Queens, a major milestone in Australian fotball history.
It was the first time an Australian side has won a knock-out match at a senior World Cup, setting up a quarter-final clash with either Japan or the Netherlands.
Match report: Brazil 0-1 Australia
“Exhilarating is the word for such a victory against a big powerful football nation,” Stajcic said. “But there’s still more to come. We’re really happy today, we’ll celebrate tonight but it’s back to work tomorrow because we know we have another potential world champion in our next round.
“The team has just responded amazingly, I can’t express how proud I am of how they see out their tasks, the effort, the execution, the spirit has just been brilliant.
“We want to go as far as possible in this tournament. Thinking about what might happen next is actually very exciting.
“We’re very happy to have beaten a potential Women’s World Cup winner like Brazil. It was amazing to see how much the team were up for the fight today. I’m extremely proud of them.”
Stajcic had produced a master-stroke, keeping both Simon and Gorry on the bench before bringing them on midway through the second half to spark the Matildas attack.
Photo: FIFA/Getty Images
