MATILDA MANIA AUSTRALIA

Australia is gripped with football fever and Chelsea striker Kerr has become a huge national superstar

- NEIL MOXLEY

THE MATILDAS have gripped Australia in a World Cup football frenzy.

Their heart-stopping, penalty shootout quarterfinal victory over France was the most-watched television event Down Under in more than two decades.

The viewing figures eclipsed every other sport - that includes the Wallabies' loss to England in the rugby union World Cup final 20 years ago, Ash Barty's win in the Australian Open last year and every Australian football and rugby league final going.

Only Cathy Freeman's 400m race on home soil at the Sydney Olympics at the turn of the Millennium has grabbed the attention of more eyes. And while the Matildas are dominating the nation's conversation, there can be no doubt who is at the centre of it all: Sam Kerr.

Staying here, in the heart of Australia's biggest city, it's impossible to walk more than a few hundred yards without a reminder of Chelsea's star striker (above).

Her face adorns every slick retail outfit that has signed up a commercial agreement with 'The Tillies'.

From fashion wear to airlines, cosmetics and telecommunications firms, everyone wants a piece. But fame is a two-edged sword.