It’s Time To Get Behind Australia’s Best Sporting Team: The Matildas
There’s a lot going on for Australian sport fans in the next few months. Two Ashes series, two tennis grand slams, cycling grand tours, and a cricket, basketball, and netball world cup will all be clamouring for our attention over winter.
But there’s one event that should really stand out. One of our national teams — the women’s soccer team — has a decent chance of bringing home a World Cup trophy.
Very little fanfare has surrounded the Matildas’ World Cup preparations. The last time they made the headlines was when head coach Alen Stajcic was sensationally sacked in January. It was a shock move from the FFA, which cited a toxic team environment as the reason for Stajcic’s dismissal.
But the World Cup waits for no person or team culture review, and the prep has ploughed on under the Matildas’ new coach, Ante Milicic. It’s now only a few days until the Aussies play their first group match.
Here are the 23 @TheMatildas set to represent Australia at the @FIFAWWC in France! #GoMatildashttps://t.co/RVgkwVCR5E pic.twitter.com/QeAa6ud1de
— Matildas (@TheMatildas) May 13, 2019
The Matildas’ big talking point is that they boast one of the game’s best players, striker Sam Kerr. The all-time leading goalscorer in the world’s best league, the USA’s National Women’s Soccer League, Kerr grew up playing Aussie rules but switched to soccer when the pathways for girls in footy dried up.
Kerr is not alone in making that switch. When it comes to counting spectators in Australian sport, soccer is a distant third behind Aussie rules and rugby league. But in terms of participation it’s a different story. More Australians play soccer than any other team sport, and the numbers are particularly high for women and girls.
This World Cup is a chance for those girls to see Australian women taking it up to the world’s best and forging careers playing professionally — something Sam Kerr couldn’t see in her chosen sport as kid.
Your Guide To The Matildas At The World Cup
It all begins in Paris on 7 June with the Group A match up: France v South Korea. Finding themselves in the Group of Death won’t deter France who will be spurred on by their status as hosts. The main contenders to break the hearts of the home fans are the USA and Germany, who have split the choccies for the number one ranking since world rankings were introduced and will be threatening as ever.
The Matildas have avoided all three juggernauts in the group stages, by being drawn in Group C against Italy, Brazil, and Jamaica. At sixth in the world, the Australians are the highest ranked in the group and odds-on favourites to make it to the knockout stage. Milicic will probably have more cause for concern then if the Matildas have to face European champions the Netherlands, who humbled Australia to the tune of three goals to nil in a warm up match last week.
The Matildas’ campaign opens against a foe familiar to fans of Australian soccer. We can all agree that it’s still too soon to joke about what happened the last time Australia and Italy met in a soccer World Cup. Suffice to say, the Matildas will stand a better chance against the 15th-ranked Italian women and diving seems to be a delight limited to the men’s game, so there’s little risk of such a controversial ending.
Soccer powerhouse Brazil always presents a challenge but the Matildas are more than up for it, having beaten Selecao in their last four meetings. On the other end of the spectrum, Jamaica may be dangerous as an unknown quantity in their first World Cup campaign.
There are new names to look out for in the Australian team too. More than a handful of players will be looking to make their World Cup debut — from 34-year-old Aivi Luik to the teammate who is less than half her age, 16-year-old wunderkind, Mary Fowler.
But there’s also a depth of experience in the Matildas’ lineup. Three Australians, Lisa de Vanna, Claire Polkinghorne, and Lydia Williams, will be appearing at their fourth World Cup.
These Matildas are legends and, not to put the mockers on them, but they might just give those Northern Hemisphere big names a scare or even go all the way.
But that is not the only reason to get excited about following the Matildas this month. If Australia’s bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is successful, there won’t be a bandwagon in the country big enough to house all the Matildas’ new fans. Get in now to be ahead of the curve.
Louise Scarce is an Australian living in London. She works in politics, writes about other stuff, and tries to watch the footy before her mum can send spoilers.
Feature image via The Matildas.