Matildas myths torn to shreds before Women’s World Cup semi-final

The Matildas are just hours away from creating sporting history. And some commons myths about the Aussie team have been torn to shreds.

No Sam Kerr, no worries.

It hasn’t just been on the field at the World Cup that the Matildas have thrived without their star striker, with the Australian public’s knowledge of her teammates rapidly growing.

And those refusing to keep up are being called out.

While there’s no doubt that Chelsea gun Kerr – who has played limited minutes due to injury – is the headline act in the Aussie squad, sections of social media are now ensuring her record-setting teammates share the same limelight.

Instagram page “missingperspectives” shared a series of posts to its more than 12,000 followers, writing: “We’ve been receiving some comments on our World Cup content that we want to unpack”.

Sam Kerr’s injury has allowed other Matildas to become household names. Picture: Jonathan Ng

It was in response to a series of questions from unnamed people.

“Apart from Kerr, name another player?,” one question asked.

Missingperspectives replied with a list of “other” Matildas players.

Another question was: “You could really suck at playing footy ... then one day kick a goal and win the game ... doesn’t automatically mean you’re a good footy player.”

“The Matildas beat Denmark by four goals, France in a history-making penalty shootout, making it through to the semi-final, and have gotten further than any Australian team in World Cup history,” missingperspectives replied.

“Missingperspectives” also commented on its own post.

“We were tossing up whether to address some of the comments you’ll find on our World Cup content. Comments that undermine the achievements of the Matildas and women’s sport. But with the encouragement of @craigfosterfootball, we decided to fact-check some comments and use this opportunity to educate. Swipe and LEARN!”

Others were quick to jump on the issue.

Socceroos great Craig Foster wrote that it is time for change.

“Right on. It’s vital to push back against misconceptions and prejudices and ensure everyone understands that the landscape has changed,” he wrote.

As revealed in August 2023, most of the World Cup players make less money than a plumber.

The World Cup has prize money of $110 million, up from $30 million last time. Our women will take home $400,000 each if they win the cup.

It’s a big pay rise, but still only a fraction of the $440 million in prize money for the men’s soccer World Cup.

Acoure12 responded to the missingperspectives post: “Gosh it becomes tiring when you have to respond to so many ignorant comments. Well done though on responding to them. Hope there’s a willingness to be educated and not simply for the commenters to troll these posts.”

Crumbs_and_corks wrote: “Ugh those comments scream misogyny. Women should be leading and inspiring and demanding more. They represent all of us that have been held back. Everyone should consider gender equality in their own workplaces, including equal pay and prize money! Go off Matildas!”

Susieabanshee wrote: “I have made comments on some posts on this page, which I enjoy following because I support young Australian women journos and writers. It has saddened me that I have been called ignorant, dumb, a clown, playing the victim card, old (and also to grow up) and most insultingly that I don’t even know anything about women’s sport all by men who don’t follow the page and have come into what should be a safe space for women’s opinions and been aggressive and quite frankly threatening!!!”

Originally published as Matildas myths torn to shreds before Women’s World Cup semi-final