‘It sucks’: Matildas veterans facing the end after World Cup heartbreak

Katrina Gorry senses her chance to win a World Cup has come and gone. For players like her, the ones who are much closer to the end of their careers than the start, the Matildas’ abrupt exit from their home tournament cuts deep.

Wednesday night’s 3-1 defeat to England brought Australia’s magical World Cup ride to a brutal conclusion. They can be proud of what they’ve achieved: this was the best-ever finish by a senior Aussie team (men’s or women’s) in history, and Gorry can see already how it will change the course of the sport in this country forever.

Australia’s Katrina Gorry in action with England’s Georgia Stanway in Wednesday’s semi-final.Credit: Reuters

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

“Everyone’s gonna be hurting – the veterans probably more. We don’t really have another World Cup in us,” she said.

“It sucks. A lot of emotions. It’s a tough one to swallow at the moment. But we’ll all get around each other, we’ll make sure that we’re ready to go for the next game, because we want that bronze medal. It’s dangling right in front of us; Australia has got us here so far, and we’re not going to let them down.”

That next game is Saturday’s third-place play-off against Sweden, and it could very well mark the end of an era for some of the team’s most reliable names, with the short turnaround surely to require some degree of squad rotation.

Gorry is 31 – she was serenaded with a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ by fans the other day in Brisbane – so her admission that she is unlikely to commit to another four-year cycle is no great surprise. Next year’s Paris Olympics looms as probably her final opportunity to win a major trophy with the Matildas. Whenever she does leave, she will leave an enormous hole in midfield, where she put in another industrious performance against the Lionesses in her 100th cap.

To come so close and fall so short is simply heartbreaking, but Gorry has always been smart enough to see the bigger picture, both on and off the pitch.

“I now truly believe we are a footballing country,” she said.

“I think every nation that’s been here; not just us, but everyone’s felt it. I think everyone’s seen it. Football in Australia is going to change forever now. And I think that’s so special to be a part of.”

Clare Polkinghorne, 34, held back tears while speaking to journalists after her making her first start of the World Cup, coming in for Alanna Kennedy (illness) in the centre of a defence that found itself constantly under siege.

Australia’s Clare Polkinghorne and England’s Lauren Hemp challenge for the ball during the semi-final.Credit: AP

“In a couple of key moments, we let ourselves down, and that’s what happens in semi-final football. You get punished for that,” she said.

Lydia Williams, 35 and the team’s longest-serving player, also probably won’t be around when they contend for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, the hosting rights for which have not yet been assigned. Aivi Luik, 38, had retired a couple of years ago when coach Tony Gustavsson convinced her to play on for the Matildas.

The silver lining is that there is an exciting new generation of Matildas players coming through and entering their prime years, led by Mary Fowler, 20, Kyra Cooney-Cross, 21, Clare Hunt, 24, and Alex Chidiac, 24.

Mary Fowler of Australia is embraced by Lydia Williams as players of Australia applaud the fans after defeat to England.Credit: Getty Images

“Some of these young girls that have just stepped in, and they’ve now played in a semi-final. They’re going to learn so much,” defender Steph Catley said.

“They’re going to be so much more prepared for the next time it comes around. That’s something that a lot of us haven’t had. The fact that they’ve got that now, so early in their careers is massive.

“Some of the players we’ve seen come through: Mary, Kyra, Clare Hunt, there’s so many, they just stepped up. They’ve got long careers ahead of them, and hopefully, we’re developing loads more girls that can come in and step in when they need to, and hopefully, us all ducks can hold on a little bit longer and push for some more trophies, but the future looks bright.”

Whether Gustavsson actually shuffles his deck for the third-place match, however, remains to be seen. He was again reluctant to use his substitutes or trust players outside his core squad members with substantial roles, sending on attacking spark Chidiac with only two minutes of regulation time left, just after England’s Alessia Russo scored their third goal.

“I’ve said this before; every player wants to play,” Chidiac said.

“It’s up to the coach, at the end of the day. All the girls left everything out there, and they have every single game. I know that they all wanted to be out there. And obviously, all of us on the bench want to get out and help with whatever role that is. You never know what will happen in the next game.

“It’s tough for me to say what else I need to do. It’s not up to me. I’m just trying to do my best every session and put myself forward in any way possible.”

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