Kids all over Australia will remember where they were on the Saturday night that The Matilda’s beat France in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Quarter Final, following the longest penalty shootout in World Cup History.
They witnessed a team of women showcasing resilience – a 17-minute penalty shootout following more than 120 minutes of playing time is certainly a test of it. They witnessed incredible skills and talent. They saw strength, unity, teamwork.
And they experienced it, thanks to a team of women.
Those kids, and all of us, have more to come and experience with Wednesday night’s semi-final against England, and possibly again next Sunday.
We don’t know if there will be further victories ahead. But we do know there will be more anxiety and tension. More anguish and agony. There will be more fists in the air. More leaps from the couch, chairs and stands. More hugs from their brothers and sisters and friends.
There may very well be heartbreak.
All such moments will culminate into what will be remembered as August of 2023, delivered by an Australian women’s sporting team – and unlike any such sporting moments delivered in a generation, from a male or female team.
Saturday night’s game was the most-watched sporting event in 18 years — eclipsed only by Lleyton Hewitt’s 2005 Australian Open final loss — and the most-watched program of the year, with an audience of 4.162 million. The television rights have been described as the “deal of the century” for Seven (The Australian reports they paid just $4 million to sub-licence 15 World Cup games from Optus).
To say this World Cup has been a turning point in Australian women’s sport is an understatement. Plenty of boys and girls can now name more members of an Australian women’s sporting team than they can of a men’s team. Kids will no longer see “women’s sport” or “men’s sport” and believe they can only align with and enjoy one or the other. Kids now can genuinely believe that they can perform on fields, courts, and pitches in the future, in the spotlight of national and adoring attention, regardless of gender.
Last Monday’s victory against Denmark delivered stunning goals from Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso, which created jubilant mid-game victories and scenes following incredible teams and individual performances that came together seamlessly to see the ball hit the net.
Saturday night’s game delivered something very different. They witnessed women taken to the absolute extremes of pressure and bringing their years of hard work together to complete the job, calmly.
There was Cortnee Vine who took that final shot to deliver the Australian victory, knowing the game could end with her.
And there was Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold with that intense, focused stare who faced 17 minutes as the central Australian figure during the shootout, following more than two hours of tense defending during gametime.
Arnold had close to 50,000 fans in the stands, all hoping she could withstand the mind-games, the talent and sheer force of the French players aiming to kick the ball past her.
17 minutes. 20 balls. The longest shootout in World Cup history. The hopes and dreams of a country on her shoulders. Arnold stopped the 1st ball. She stopped the fifth penalty – putting Australia just one shot from making history. Arnold then took that fifth penalty for Australia – she missed. Once again, France had a chance at victory. Despite the setback, Arnold got up again and kept the shootout alive, until Vine’s shot sealed the victory, and history.
This was resilience in motion. Australia witnessed it – kids everywhere got to feel and experience it. They saw MacKenzie Arnold and the full Australian team secure a path to victory through the full extremes of what this sport offers.
Arnold said she was extremely overwhelmed during a post-match interview. But she gave a little insight into how they successfully approached the shootout: through hard work and trust.
“We’ve done a lot of work on penalties,” she said. “A lof of work on my technique. It think it was about trusting each other and me trusting the coaches and the coaches trusting me. And they did that,” she said.
“To know we’ve made history with this special team is going to be a night that I remember forever.”
What comes next for The Matildas? We’ll learn that soon when they take on England on Wednesday night in Sydney. This sport can be incredibly cruel – just ask Megan Rapinoe from the US team, which was knocked out during a penalty shootout with Rapinoe missing a crucial shot. Indeed, it can be far more cruel than it can be kind.
Whatever is to be, we will always have the team of women millions of Australians witnessed on Saturday night.
As Australian Coach Tony Gustavsson said following the victory. The teams showed heart, soul and passion – we know it, we all saw it. “Success is when you leave it out there, no matter the result. You play with your heart and you give it your best. That represents so much more than 90 minutes of football.”