Australia’s historic World Cup run uniting a continent: ‘So much more to give’

Laken Litman

College Football & Soccer Analyst

BRISBANE, Australia – Women were painting each other’s faces green and gold in the bathroom bar across the street from Brisbane Stadium hours before kickoff of the biggest soccer game in Australia‘s history.

Little girls and boys were waving inflatable kangaroos in the concourse while holding onto their mom’s hands.

A sobbing Australian fan said to nobody in particular, “When I say this is the best day of my life … apologies to my nieces!”

Six event security guards lined up to take pictures with superstar striker Sam Kerr because that might have been the only chance they’d ever get.

Even the Australian Football League match between Carlton and Melbourne on the other side of town pushed back its start time to accommodate fans that wanted to watch another kind of football.

The Matildas, also delightfully called the Tillies by their loyal fans, eliminated the favored France here on Saturday night after the longest penalty shootout in World Cup history, men’s or women’s. Following an emotional 10 rounds, it was Australia that emerged victorious and advanced to its first semifinal on this stage. The host nation had previously made it to the quarterfinals three times, but never further.

“I’m shocked, I’m happy, I’m just everything. I’m so all over the place,” said Kerr, the 29-year-old captain who has been a major storyline of her own this tournament after missing the first three matches with a calf injury. She played 10 minutes in the round of 16 win over Denmark last week, and came off the bench to play a meaningful 65 against Les Bleues on Saturday. She even converted her penalty kick opportunity.

“We have so much more to give in this tournament,” she said.

[Australia edges France on PKs, first Women’s World Cup host in semis since 2003]

Yes, Australia’s hopes of not just making it to the World Cup semifinal but winning the whole thing are very much intact even after shaky, nail-biting moments during penalties where it felt like an entire continent’s dream would soon end.

That the team is moving on is due to a lot of things.

There was goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold’s heroics and unbelievable mental fortitude during the penalty shootout. She made a dramatic save to open things, denying Selma Bacha of converting the first shot for Les Bleues. All 49,461 raucous Australian fans in attendance – there was only a sprinkling of French fans – booed Bacha so loudly when she stepped up to the spot that eardrums must still be ringing. Later, when French defender Eve Perisset prepared to take the fifth shot, the pitch coming from the crowd was so deafening, you couldn’t hear the referee blow her whistle to signal she was clear to take the kick. Perisset hit the post and fans shouted, “F— yes!”

Alexi reacts to Australia, Mackenzie Arnold’s UNREAL penalty shootout performance against France | SOTU

Arnold was the Matildas’ fifth shooter and had the chance to win it if she made it. She agonizingly hit the post, but got right back in goal. As the shootout trudged onward, Arnold saved France’s ninth attempt, taken by Kenza Dali. The elation that comes with making a save in this kind of high-pressure moment is unlike anything in sports – but then the referee called for a do-over because Arnold was off her line. It didn’t matter. Arnold made another diving save to deny Dali twice.

“She’s amazing,” Kerr said of her goalkeeper. “She saves all of our pens at training.”

This was really going to 10 rounds and Vicki Becho, who had been a handful on the wing most of the game, was up next for France. When she hit the left post, that meant it was up to 25-year-old Cortnee Vine, playing in her first World Cup, to clinch it for the Matildas. And before her turn, the Matildas had already missed two previous opportunities to finish this game.

“It was almost like it was written in the stars,” Australia coach Tony Gustavsson said afterward.

Vine had told reporters earlier in the week that of course she would do whatever her team needed to beat France. But she meant it more, like, come off the bench or be a role player or maybe score a goal, like she came so close to doing in the 105th minute after she was subbed on in the 104th. But she jokingly admitted late Saturday night that she didn’t actually think she would need to be called upon.

Then she buried her shot, helping her team make history.

“I have not scored a game-winning penalty kick ever,” said Vine, who mentioned when she made this roster that she suffered from imposter syndrome. “And just to think it’s my first one for a [spot in the World Cup] semifinal is just, I don’t know. I don’t know what to say.”

[Australia fans rejoice as World Cup hosts advance to semifinals]

Australia vs. France: NAIL-BITING Penalty Shootout in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Quarterfinals

Before penalties began, Gustavsson huddled his team up near the sideline and gave an impassioned speech. He said he looked each player in the eye and told them, “Trust me when I say you are ready for this moment,” Gustavsson said. “I said, ‘You’re ready. Let’s show the world that we’re ready.'”

Gustavsson, who became the Matildas head coach in September 2020, was an assistant for the U.S. women’s national team four years ago when the Americans won their second straight World Cup title. He joked he has “some unhealthy addiction to do-or-die games.”

“I love it,” he said. “It makes you feel alive. This is what life is about, creating memories with the ones you love the most. I can’t wait to get more moments like this with this group of amazing people.”

When the final whistle blew, confirming Australia’s historic victory, Gustavsson wept. The stadium went berserk, punch-drunk on Matildas mania. The players, led by Kerr, walked around the entire field, making sure to hit each corner and thank the thousands of fans who came to support them. Fans hollered back, waving green and gold ‘Go Matildas!’ flags.

‘You are a part of this win’ – Australia HC Tony Gustavsson thanks fans after defeating France in PKs

“I really believe that this team can create history,” Gustavsson said. “In so many ways, not just winning football games, but the way they can inspire the next generation, the way they can unite the nation, how they can leave a legacy that’s much bigger than 90-minute football.

“And I think that’s also why I believe in them so much. Because the ‘why’ is so much bigger than football. And when that’s what drives you, that is a powerful tool that is very difficult to stop.”

If the quarterfinal was the biggest soccer game in Australian history to date, then the spicy semifinal showdown against England on Wednesday will be even more goosebump-inducing (coverage begins at 5 a.m. ET with kickoff at 6 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

[England shows resolve vs. Colombia, will meet Australia in semifinals]

This is a team that’s believed in itself from the beginning even without Kerr at 100 percent and even with oddsmakers counting them out.

So, can the Matildas go all the way?

“I mean,” Kerr said, “that’s what we’re here for.”

Instant reactions to Australia’s epic elimination of France in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinals

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter at @LakenLitman.

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