Triumph, Tenacity, and the Matildas: A Journey from Struggle to Stardom

I have a confession to make. I’m still recovering from Saturday night!

My voice is hoarse from roaring with every twist and turn of that 120-minute heart-thumping Matildas game. And that 17-minute white-knuckle penalty shoot-out?  But then, Cortnee Vine’s triumphant kick! The nation didn’t just celebrate; we ignited.

‘𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠? 𝐿𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑛𝑜 𝑓𝑢𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟𝑠. 𝐴𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑐𝑙𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑, 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑢𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑖𝑔𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 – 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑧𝑦’ Lucy Zelic, sports presenter and journalist writes for the Sydney Morning Herald.

These superstars don’t stand alone. Every Matilda before them is woven into this tapestry of triumph. Zelic recounts the dark days, playing to empty stadiums, players buying their own plane tickets, paying their own medical expenses, Joey Peters donning Socceroos’ hand-me-downs, and the desperate nude calendar shoot for funding.

This isn’t just a win on the pitch. It’s a victory for every resilient woman who’s worn that jersey, for every tear shed, every sacrifice made, and every dream fiercely chased across decades. This team has been forged in fire.

One more sleep till the Matildas take on England in the semi-finals tomorrow!

Dear Matildas, the whole nation is behind you. Win or lose, you live forever in our hearts. We love you.

Now ‘Go get ‘em’!