New Australian crowd record will watch Matildas’ final World Cup warm-up match

There’s no denying the pulling power of Sam Kerr and the Matildas, with an Australian crowd record set to be broken in Melbourne.

Matildas captain Sam Kerr dreams of winning the World Cup. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Matildas captain Sam Kerr is adamant she and her teammates won’t be “overawed” by expectations or big crowds in pursuit of their dream World Cup on home soil.

The superstar striker will get a chance to test that notion, with the Matildas set to play in front of an Australian record crowd before the World Cup even starts.

Ticket sales for the “send-off” match against France, the world’s fifth-ranked team, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne eight days before the World Cup opener against Ireland have already passed 40,000.

That will break the previous record attendance for a stand-alone Matildas home match by some margin.

The record of 36,109 fans was set during Australia’s encounter with defending FIFA Women’s World Cup champions the US in 2021 in Sydney.

Few Australian sportspeople are as loved as Sam Kerr of the Matildas. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

More than one million tickets have also been sold for the World Cup, being played across Australian and New Zealand, and the big-crowd experience before the tournament begins looms as the perfect chance for the Matildas to condition themselves to the massive support they’ll received at every game.

“It‘s such a big event, it’s such a big moment for us,” Kerr said as she was immortalised in Lego last week.

“The most important thing is we focus on ourselves and focus on performing to the best of our ability and enjoying it too because this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“You don‘t want it to become a bad experience by getting overawed by the crowd or whatever it may be, you want to enjoy this experience.”

Kerr remains the pre-eminent star of the tournament and that fact was reaffirmed when she was put on the cover of EA Sports’ FIFA World Cup game, designed especially for the tournament.

It's time to head down under

The #FIFAWWC comes to #FIFA23 at the end of June 🌏

Learn more: https://t.co/dNLAD3QKbQpic.twitter.com/f2MvIGYrkG

— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) June 19, 2023

A provisional 29-player Matildas squad, named earlier this week, is gathering in Queensland to prepare for the tournament, one of the biggest ever, for men or women, staged on Australian soil.

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said there was little doubt the county had embraced Kerr and the Matildas ahead of the World Cup given the mass of ticket sales for both the send-off match and the tournament.

“The overwhelming response from the Australian public reaffirms the team‘s status as a beloved national team,” he said.

“Especially as we approach the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the most significant event to converge on our shores since the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

“This is truly a momentous time for the sport and, with the world’s attention on Australia during July and August, it will once again demonstrate how football unites Australians like no other sport.”

Kerr said winning the World Cup would be, not surprisingly, her “ultimate dream”.

“That‘s why I play football,” she said.

“That’s why I do what I do every day. That’s why I sacrifice so much, to win a World Cup.”

The Matildas will begin their World Cup campaign against Ireland in Sydney on July 22.