Hometown hero Sam Kerr and Arsenal star Caitlin Foord have scored hat-tricks as the Matildas all but guaranteed a passage to the next round of Olympic qualifying with a 8-0 rout of the Philippines in Perth. In front of a sellout crowd of 59,155 at Optus Stadium on Sunday, Kerr and Foord scored first-half braces as Australia took a 5-0 lead into the break.
” The Matildas rested most of their biggest stars in Thursday’s 2-0 win against Iran, but they wheeled out a full-strength outfit against the Philippines in a match that would effectively decide the group winner. Kerr, Foord, Mackenzie Arnold, Steph Catley and Fowler were among the 10 changes, and it didn’t take long for the floodgates to open. Fowler opened the scoring in the 15th minute courtesy of a clever deflection from Foord.