Women’s World Cup: Matilda Kyra Cooney-Cross has announced her arrival at the best possible time
It’s been a breakout World Cup for Matilda Kyra Cooney-Cross. ADAM PEACOCK charts her long-awaited rise and the global buzz that’s building.
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When it comes to the truth about young talented players, those in the know are reluctant to let their thoughts loose.
Whisper it. Think it.
But don’t come out and broadcast it to the world.
It’s up to the player themselves to do that.
While many in Australian football have long thought Kyra Cooney-Cross an exceptional prospect, everyone has remained quiet until it happens.
And at this World Cup, it’s happened with Cooney-Cross.
The 21-year-old central midfielder has been immense for the Matildas charging around the centre of the park with Katrina Gorry. The duo have been the heartbeat of Tony Gustavsson’s high-octane game plan.
While wingers and strikers get the glory, none of it happens if the central midfield pair aren’t winning the ball and making smart decisions.
Cooney-Cross has the perfect mix. Athleticism and artistic ability. With and without the ball, equally effective.
At club level, Cooney-Cross is off contract with her Swedish club in a matter of months. Good timing.
Manchester United are intent on getting her signature, but her elite performances at this World Cup has brought Chelsea and Arsenal, England’s two biggest clubs, into the picture too.
Every way you look at it, the worth of Kyra Cooney-Cross is soaring.
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It isn’t just one event that has turned Cooney-Cross from, but rather a series.
Some good, some not so good. But all valuable, starting with the most recent one.
Cooney-Cross made her Matildas debut in 2021, part of Tony Gustavsson’s plan to infuse the team with young talent. It wasn’t easy. As a deep-lying midfielder, Cooney-Cross was being asked to control the tempo of games, while learning on the job.
Then, in 2022, Katrina Gorry returned from maternity leave.
“Her partnership in midfield with Katrina Gorry and use of her as a role model has actually helped her game immensely,” former Matildas and now Optus Sport commentator Amy Chapman says.
“In that holding midfielder role you have to have 360 vision, plus understand and work off every other player. Kyra is really quick over 4-5 metres, that does help, and with Katrina by her side, she’s simplified things with the ball.”
Cooney-Cross agrees the return of Gorry has helped her game go to the level required at a World Cup.
“As soon as (Gorry) came she took me under her wing and made me feel so confident, I really enjoy playing with her,” Cooney-Cross told the media earlier in the tournament.
“I don’t think words can describe how grateful I am and I’ve told her as much as I can how much I appreciate her because she’s made me feel more and more confident every game.”
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Cooney-Cross has long been earmarked for the top.
Born in Queensland, she moved Alice Springs then south to Victoria, a ball never far from her sight, thinking about scoring or setting up goals never far from her thoughts.
At 15 she was signed by Melbourne Victory as purely an attacking player.
“All she thought about was going forward, beating players one v one,” recalls Victory coach, Jeff Hopkins.
There were great moments in a Victory shirt, namely scoring a last minute ‘Olympico’, a goal from a corner, to win a Grand Final against Sydney FC.
But there were also key lessons, felt harshly at the time.
In Cooney-Cross’ second season at Victory, Hopkins signed a number of established players, which meant the youngster had to deal with time on the bench.
“That year she had to face a bit of adversity, getting dropped, not having everything her own way,” Hopkins says.
“That year might not have been a happy time for her, but looking back she might have learnt a lot.’
And while Cooney-Cross comes across as a reserved, almost shy individual, there’s a fire that burns. Hopkins recalls getting too close to the heat one day.
“Sometimes I get a little carried away during the game,” Hopkins says.
“She came off after a game, as a 17-year-old, and said ‘you can’t be shouting at me from the sideline, I don’t respond really well to it. Can we talk about how you’re going to get the best out of me?’
“It was really good, really interesting,” Hopkins laughs.
“I said ‘look, I’ll do my best not to, but there’s going to be times where I can’t help it,’ but it did change my behaviour and how I communicated with her.
“Great that she could teach me a few things as well!”
*****
Spliced between Cooney-Cross’ learning years at Victory was a spell at Western Sydney Wanderers.
At the time, the youngster was living in Sydney, attending high school and also Football Australia’s Harbour City finishing school, the Young Matildas program.
It made sense to spend a season playing A League Women’s for a Sydney team.
“We were recruiting and went to a Young Matildas game to watch Mary Fowler and one other player,” former Wanderers coach Dean Heffernan tells CODE.
Another stood out. Cooney-Cross.
“Within ten minutes I was like ‘we need to get that player’,” Heffernan chuckles.
“I had Kyra ahead of everyone else on the field. Obviously Mary is on a different level as well, but just that game, Kyra was the one.”
Even though she was away from family, out of her comfort zone, and playing for Wanderers who then had a team of star internationals and seasoned A League Women’s pros, Heffernan recalls a player beyond her teenage years.
“You can see when she gets the shits, but when she gets the shits she’ll dribble past five players,” Heffernan says.
“If she lost her bundle, she lost it in a good way, and went to another gear.”
Heffernan, like Hopkins, Chapman and anyone else with an eye for talent, finds it hard to put a ceiling on Cooney-Cross.
“Going into the national team, you’re going through all those nerves again as a young player, but this World Cup she’s shown she’s through that stage, she belongs there now,” Heffernan says.
“I reckon she’s got so much more to give as well, which is the awesome thing.”
Originally published as Women’s World Cup: Matilda Kyra Cooney-Cross has announced her arrival at the best possible time
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