Co-hosts Australia dedicated their win over Ireland to "spiritual leader" Sam Kerr after she was ruled out of at least their first two Women's World Cup games with a calf injury on Thursday.
The Chelsea forward is the country's all-time leading scorer and the face of the tournament, but the skipper missed the Matildas' opening 1-0 victory in Sydney and is out of the clash with Nigeria next week.
"Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training," she said in a statement released close to kickoff. "I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from what we came here to achieve.
"Of course I would have loved to have been out there tonight, but I can't wait to be a part of this amazing journey which starts now," added the 29-year-old.
Arsenal defender Steph Catley took over as captain against Ireland and scored the only goal from the penalty spot.
"Heartbreak to be honest," she said of the Kerr news, calling the star striker their "spiritual leader".
"It is one of the most difficult things you can go through as a team, one day out from the biggest tournament in our lives, probably the best player in the tournament going down.
"Other teams are probably frothing -- it is great for them.
"But we got a lot of relief from the way she reacted and we put ourselves out there tonight and made sure we got the win for her."
The team said their medical staff will "re-assess her following our second group-stage match".
Catley said that despite not playing Kerr was heavily involved in the half-time talk after a scrappy goalless first 45 minutes, and it helped rev them up.
"Non stop from the first chat in the room to the last," she said. "She was getting around to everyone, as you would expect."
Kerr made her Australia debut aged just 15 and has gone on to become one of the best players in women's football, with her profile soaring to new heights since moving to Chelsea in 2020.
She has been shortlisted for the women's Ballon d'Or and nominated for the Best FIFA Women's Player consistently since 2017.
In 2019, Kerr became the first Australian, man or woman, to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, but winning a major trophy with her country has eluded her.
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