How the internet reacted to the Matildas' 3-3 draw with South Korea

A frustrated Matildas team needed a last-minute equaliser to scrape a 3-3 draw with group winners Korea Republic, and will now prepare for a quarterfinal in Perth. Here's how the internet reacted. 

This was a perfect game to gauge just how hungry the Matildas are: progress through to the quarterfinals was already secured, a loss wouldn't end the campaign, so it wasn't a "must-win" game.

But top spot in the group would be decided by this match, and we'd see exactly how fired up the Matildas could be when the threat of elimination wasn't looming. A real contender would want to flex its muscles here, vanquish a rival, and send a message to the other Asian powers.

Hayley Raso had been ruled out earlier in the week, trapped in the concussion protocols after copping two full-force clearances to the face in the Iran win.

Mackenzie Arnold returned in goal, Charlie Rule was swapped out in defence, and Katrina Gorry made her first start of the tournament.

Australian-Korean singer Dami Im sang both nations' national anthems, a superb display of vocal versatility. 

The match kicked off, with Australia ripping in to proceedings with a frenetic pace.

Korea was clearly not going to be the ultra-defensive opponent Australia had thus far faced, and Kerr and Gorry even had a half-chance in transition after a protracted Korean attacking sequence.

Steph Catley was felled by a head knock, which, with Raso's injury in mind, was intensely unwelcome.

Foord hoicked a great chance, set up by Ellie Carpenter, over the bar. Leaning back at the far post, it was an ugly scoop of a shot. 

It was a two-goal swing, as a minute or so later, the Koreans took the lead, a counterattack down the left that saw Heatley punished for being out of position. A rapid break, a sharp cross and Eun-ju Moon slid to poke the ball past Arnold.

Steph Catley had to come off with concussion symptoms, that she herself flagged. This was a slow-motion car crash of a start, something Australian F1 fans had already had more than enough on Sunday.

The Matildas were not playing cleanly, tackling clumsily, but that's just how the equaliser was scored. A corner led to a grubby collection of blocked crosses and pin-balling shots, until Mary Fowler smacked the ball goal-wards, and Alanna Kennedy bundled it over the line. Scrappy, chaotic, but a vital goal to get things back on level terms. 

It was Kennedy's third goal of the tournament.

The Australians had a renewed zip in their step, hurrying the Koreans to take their throws, eager to get the game going and get their noses in front.

But Korea Republic was organised, defending well and, crucially, were still threatening on the break.

Foord had three half-chances before the half-time whistle sounded, but couldn't take any — she was having a poor shooting night.

But her passing was fine, and with a minute to go in the first half, she turned, ran at the Korean defence, and laid the ball off to Sam Kerr to her left. Kerr, with a show of striker's instinct, swept the ball inside the post with a first-time shot. Australia 2-1, just before half-time.

Raising the tempo, pushing for an equaliser against a good counterattacking team takes courage. You need to be brave to embark forward, knowing that one misplaced pass or poor touch could send the other team racing away toward your unset defence, smelling blood and looking to kill the game. The Matildas were brave, and walking into half-time in the lead was their just reward.

The second half began, and misfortune struck for the Matildas, as a penalty was awarded after VAR spotted the ball glancing off Courtney Nevin's arm as she tried to block a shot. Her arm was away from her body, although it was completely unintentional.

The penalty was slotted home by Kim Shinji. 2-2.

A double gut punch, as a few minutes later, with the Matildas failing to clear their lines, the ball fell to Kang Chae-rim on the right, and she arrowed a shot inside the far-left post, past a flailing Arnold. 

After all that work to get themselves in front, the Matildas were trailing again after a horrendous three-minute period.

As the game ticked past the hour mark, Joe Montemurro got up from the bench and strode with purpose to the edge of his technical area; a sub or two was needed.

Amy Sayer came on for Wheeler, and took up a position on the left, pushing Fowler into the middle, a shake up in attack, but also fresh legs defensively too, as Kang Chae-rim had been terrorising Fowler and Nevin on that wing.

Australia was looking desperate and bedraggled, panicking in defence, resorting to long balls in attack. Korea was comfortable, and employing time-wasting tactics to great effect. Van Egmond and Kyra Cooney-Cross came on.

The more the Matildas scrabbled furiously for a goal, the less convincing they looked; Kerr twice caught offside, crosses overhit, agonised expressions and sweaty brows. 

They had conceded so early, and having so much time to get back into the contest had buoyed their confidence, kept them focused. Going behind again, in the second half, saw them lose composure trying to chase the game, scattered and harebrained. The game teetered toward the 90th minute.

Kennedy equalised in the final minute of added time, smashing home after Kerr laid off a deflected looping ball. Scruffy, fortunate. A draw was as good as a loss as far as top spot was concerned.

And that's how it ended, 3-3. The players in green and gold were visibly frustrated.

Montemurro, speaking to the host broadcaster after the game, said this:

"We need to manage games better," he said, shoulders shrugging.

"We were very patchy tonight, and against a quality team, you're not going to get the result you want … We were just careless."

So, he knows what the issue is and can enunciate it perfectly; when the Matildas are feeling good, and the game situation isn't too deflating or anxiety-inducing, they can play well, and cogently. But when something goes wrong, or something unfortunate occurs, the shakes return, the calm evaporates, the plan is abandoned.

The games will only get harder, the stakes higher from here. Montemurro has work to do.