Feels like Football Australia nailed every bit of this send-off for Lydia Williams.
Love that the presentation happened pre-match so Lyds could be celebrated in front of the big audience she deserved, after being a trailblazer for so many years in front of sparse crowds.
Alright, who is cutting onions? 🥹
Tonight Lyds was presented with a Booka by Evonne Goolagong, the cloak, traditionally worn by Noongar peoples, represents Lydia’s journey from Kalgoorlie to the international stage.
#Matildas
#TilitsDone
#ThanksLyds
In case you needed further proof these rankings are fraudulent …
A
#FIFAWWC
semi-final gets the
#Matildas
dropped from 10th to 11th (Japan jump into top 10) below the likes of Brazil, Germany and Canada who made group stage exits.
Still trying to get my head around being able to watch 3-4
#FIFAWWC
matches in one day in Australia without serious sleep deprivation.
It rules.
Let’s host it forever.
Mary Fowler has backed away from her teenage aim of being the best player in the world - but honestly, I reckon she can be.
Has all the tools, smarts, poise, mindset and character. And she's only 20.
If Man City don't use her right this WSL season, we riot.
#FIFAWWC
Casey Dumont taking and scoring the first penalty and then saving the first oppo pen is potentially the best thing I’ve ever seen.
Ice cold.
#MCYvMVC
#MelbDerby
Brisbane-bound for the start of covering
@TheMatildas
@FIFAWWC
beat for
@AAPSport
!
Proud and honoured to be there every day of Australia’s journey for
@AAPNewswire
along with plenty of other games and news.
Excited for what shapes as an incredibly special tournament!
#WWC23
by this point we're so used to Sam Kerr doing extraordinary things on a regular basis that it feels like an every day thing.
the mark of a generational athlete
Impossible not to be happy for Michelle Heyman. A hat-trick inside 16 minutes and putting her hand up for that ticket to Paris in a big way - almost six years after her most recent Matildas start (March 2018).
#AUSvUZB
Heading home to Melbourne today after 39 days on the road for the
#FIFAWWC
(bar a brief return in the group stage!)
It’s been an absolute honour to cover
@TheMatildas
’ journey and so much more for
@AAPSport
@AAPNewswire
at a tournament that was beyond my wildest dreams ✨
Casey Dumont taking and scoring the first penalty and then saving the first oppo pen is potentially the best thing I’ve ever seen.
Ice cold.
#MCYvMVC
#MelbDerby
Steph Catley reckons Caitlin Foord is "in the form of her life right now".
Katrina Gorry says the Matildas gun "is the one to watch this World Cup".
Most importantly, Foord herself now seems to believe she can star at this
@FIFAWWC
Story on
@AAPSport
🚨 Reminder Sweden are in yellow today so wear your best green/teal/turquoise numbers if you’re getting along to support the
#Matildas
tonight!
#FIFAWWC
Great being in the Melbourne sporting precinct with both Taylor Swift and the
#MelbDerby
on.
All these fans in carefully coordinated outfits from different eras.
Then there’s the Swifties.
That 0-0 draw in
#NGACAN
is a HUGE result for
@TheMatildas
Really turns Group B in Australia’s favour
Nigeria will also be without red-carded midfielder Deborah Ajibola Abiodun for the July 27 clash with Australia
Mackenzie Arnold playing with a hell of a lot of confidence at the moment. Love to see it after such a mixed run in terms of international football over the years.
#ENGvAUS
We are less than 24 hours away from
@TheMatildas
kicking off their campaign in front of a sellout crowd at a home
#FIFAWWC
It’s all starting to feel real but also kind of like a fever dream?
I can’t believe how far we’ve come.
Would just like to stress my last remarks here: if you have a ticket and can’t make it to the game/have a spare ticket, make sure it ends up in the hands of someone supporting the Tillies 🙏🏼
The daily pod is in and we're talking about the
#Matildas
penalty shootout victory over France to book a spot in the World Cup semifinals for the first time in Australian football history!
#FIFAWWC
Whole range of emotions: devastated, flat, angry. I've covered a lot of ALM games and I've never seen anything this ugly. Hard to see a way up from here.
#MelbDerby
The A-League Men Melbourne derby has been abandoned for player safety reasons after fan protests turned into a pitch invasion in one of the ugliest scenes in the competition's history.
Latest via
@AnnaHarrington
:
#mcyvmvc
#ALeagues
#aleague
Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams has joined Melbourne Victory for the next two A-League Women seasons.
I spoke with
@lydsaussie
for
@AAPSport
about her decision to return and wanting to give back to the community and inspire the next generation.
SAM KERR ALL-BUT WINS THE LEAGUE FOR CHELSEA ON THE FINAL DAY WITH A WORLDIE! 😱
A world class finish sparks wild scenes in West London!
Stream
#CHEMUN
📺
#OptusSport
#BarclaysFAWSL
Bruno Fornaroli starts up top for the
@Socceroos
against Indonesia - well deserved after some impressive form off the bench against stacked defences.
He replaces Kusini Yengi while Gethin Jones for Nathaniel Atkinson is the only other change.
#AsianCup2023
@AAPSport
Here we go!
@TheMatildas
hit the track in Melbourne days out from their
@FIFAWWC
send-off against France.
Amy Sayer and Jada Whyman are the two train-ons with the squad.
Coverage to come on
@AAPSport
Great news - Nestory Irankunda will make his Socceroos debut against Bangladesh tomorrow.
Graham Arnold confirmed we'll see him on the park and says he's been training very, very well.
After an amazing three weeks’ leave in Chile, excited to be back on board in the UK today 😊
Thrilled to be a part of the
@AAPSport
team covering
@birminghamcg22
and excited for all the great stories to come on
@AAPNewswire
🕺🏻
4 -
@ThornsFC
's Sophia Smith (1 goal, 3 assists) is the second player to record 4 goal contributions in an
#NWSL
match against the Reign (Sam Kerr - 2017). Statement.
At Tillies training this morning!
👀 Kyah Simon spent some time with the main group - first time I’ve seen that this
#FIFAWWC
Sam Kerr on the bike (day off legs) - we shall see what happens there.
Cortnee Vine and Teagan Micah sitting out, load management cited.
@AAPSport
Very fair question - a hard-running, tough midfielder doesn’t even get a look in.
Rough Wheeler didn’t even get the courtesy run at the end at the very least.
I have to ask but in all seriousness.
WHAT DID CLARE WHEELER DO?
Not one minute throughout this whole tournament. I can’t be the only one that remembers thinking she was the future of this midfield.
Le
@PSG_Feminines
est heureux d’annoncer l’arrivée de Clare Hunt pour les trois prochaines saisons. ✍️
L’internationale australienne est désormais liée au Club jusqu’au 30 juin 2026.
➡️
#WelcomeClare
❤️💙
Don’t mind me, just here living in the moment between Cortnee Vine’s penalty hitting the back of the net and the crowd (plus the rest of Australia) losing its mind.
✨ A history-making night ✨
🗓️ One month ago, we beat France in the longest-ever penalty shoot-out in
#FIFAWWC
history to book our spot in the semi-final - for the first time! 🤩
#Matildas
"I was looking around during the anthem - I can't even tell you how proud it made me.”
@stephcatley
might be the only person who loves
@cityofmelbourne
more than me.
The
@AAMIPark
cauldron delivered in spades for
@TheMatildas
last night!
We've got 50,629 at Marvel Stadium tonight for
#AUSvFRA
- that's a new record for
@TheMatildas
on home soil!
It'll be broken in six days but what a send-off. You love to see it!
Sam Kerr reckons Mary Fowler is
@TheMatildas
' best finisher.
Steph Catley says she's the player Australia was crying out for.
Four years on from almost making her
@FIFAWWC
debut, Fowler is ready to shine on the biggest stage.
My interview for
@AAPSport
:
Sam Kerr gets a look at the Marvel Stadium pitch.
She’ll be here in front of a sellout crowd tomorrow when
@TheMatildas
take on
@equipedefranceF
The expected 50,000+ crowd will be a record for the Matildas in Australia (til next week at least!)
#AUSvFRA
@AAPSport
"Why would I want to play football when I don't even know what's going to happen tomorrow?"
Susan Alberti has bemoaned the delay on a start date for the next
#AFLW
season, saying she would be questioning her future if she was a player.
Forget individual player snubs, surely the biggest omission when the
#ballondor
nominees are announced is that there still isn’t a women’s equivalent of the Kopa and Yashin Trophies for best young player/goalkeeper?
Especially in 2023, the year of Linda Caicedo.
Thanks to everyone who came out to the live podcast recording of
@thefarpostpod
in Sydney last night!
What a fantastic way to wrap up a month of incredible coverage of the Women's World Cup 🏆
#FIFAWWC
Still taking in last night ... it might take a while.
Huge month on
@AAPNewswire
@AAPSport
- we've covered every game of this
#FIFAWWC
A thread of our coverage from the past 24+ hours, starting with the report of the
#Matildas
' extraordinary night
Nice touch on the
@westernbulldogs
banner here in Wadawurrung Country, referencing Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s interview from earlier this season.
#AFLDogsCrows
FIFA confirm a two-match ban for Lauren James.
Rules her out obviously of the
#FIFAWWC
quarter-final v Colombia and then if England progress, the semi-final against Australia or France
🚨 Manchester City sign Mary Fowler 🚨
The Australia international puts pen to paper on a four-year deal and will wear the No.8 shirt 👕
🗣 "It’s a team I’ve always wanted to play for. When City play, you see football and how beautiful it is."
Football Australia say Cortnee Vine is out of the Matildas squad for Uzebekistan Olympic qualifiers for personal reasons - replaced by in-form Wanderers striker Sophie Harding.
City's Daniela Galic going into camp as a train-on before linking up with the Young Matildas
This seemed like the perfect chance to start Clare Wheeler alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross, but alas.
Hopefully we see that combination for a decent chunk later on.
Huge if this gets over the line!
Massive move for Cooney-Cross to a club with some familiar faces in Foord and Catley.
Kudos to Arsenal - it’s only gonna become more common in women’s football for clubs to suck it up and pay the transfer fee to get the player they want.
Joint story with
@Stillmanator
.
Arsenal have moved for Hammarby and Australia midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross.
Several clubs wanted to wait until January, Arsenal decided not to take the risk.
Understand it's a big fee despite contract up in December.
HUGE blow for the Matildas with Mary Fowler OUT of the Nigeria game with concussion.
Aivi Luik also out, concussed in a separate incident.
With Sam Kerr and Kyah Simon out it leaves Caitlin Foord as the only established striker.
@AAPSport
Australian fans have been buying up tickets in the official England supporters' end for Wednesday's World Cup semi-final after the access code was leaked on social media. Fans bragging they will be 'proudly wearing Matildas shirts'.