On the eve of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Susan Chenery chats with Matildas’ star players, Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord, about grit, gratitude and rising from the pits of despair to make Australia proud.
Sam Kerr is widely considered the best female footballer in the world. Fast, athletic, audacious, dangerous on the attack, her technique and timing are dazzling. Those feet – those electrifying feet – as they whisk the ball out from under the boots of her opponents. The famous cartwheel and backflip – her customary show of exuberance after a particularly spectacular goal – something her mother says she taught herself at the age of 10 walking down a hill.
“I don’t know where it came from,” says Roxanne Kerr with a proud grin.
Playing for Perth Glory in the southern summer and the Chicago Red Stars in the winter, Sam is the all-time leading scorer in the US National Women’s Soccer League and the Australian W-League – the first player to score four goals in one game. But it was as captain of the Westfield Matildas that Sam and teammate Caitlin Foord, also known for her speed and power, spoke to The Weekly, as the duo prepared for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
And this time the Matildas intend to win. “Everything you do is for the World Cup,” says Sam. A team once seen as the underdog has become a serious contender. Since winning the 2017 Tournament of Nations, beating the US, Japan and even the mighty Brazil, the Matildas have become known for their fearless, entertaining, bold brand of football. And in 2019, for the first time, an Australian team is seeded at the World Cup.
“We’ve always known we’re a good team,” says Caitlin. “Australians love a winning sports team and, once we started getting the results, we made them fall in love with us. It was just a matter of time before everyone noticed.”
Denne historien er fra June 2019-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 2019-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
