Feeling crook, Matildas goalkeeper survives her white-knuckle ride

Mackenzie Arnold saved three penalties, missed one of her own. Just another night at the office, she reckons.

Mackenzie Arnold of Australia reacts after victory in the FIFA Women's World Cup quarter final win over France in Brisbane Stadium on SAturday. Picture: Instagram

Mackenzie Arnold saved three penalties. Deflected all praise. She’s the greatest kind of sporting hero. A humble one.

“I definitely haven’t processed it,” the Matildas goalkeeper said after her gallantry in the wild World Cup penalty shootout victory over France.

“That’s the craziest game I’ve ever played, considering what was on the line. It’s going to take a long time to really realise what has happened and what I’ve done and what the team has done. I was just doing my job. I’m super-proud to be Australian right now.

“I will ­remember this night for the rest of my life.”

She’s not alone there. And she did more than pull a regular work shift. She was player of the match in the exhilarating 7-6 penalties triumph that sent the Matildas into Wednesday night’s World Cup semi-final against England in Sydney.

Nobody rode the highs and lows of the 17-minute, 20-shot shootout more intensely than ­Arnold. If it was a rollercoaster, she was hanging from the side of the car, holding on for dear life. She saved three penalties, took one herself.

Mackenzie Arnold saves the ninth penalty from Kenza Dali of France in the penalty shoot out. Picture: Chris Hyde/FIFA via Getty Images

She could have won the game for the Matildas, but pinged her shot into the post. She dusted herself off to make her final save before teammate Cortnee Vine nailed the matchwinner as if a dart was going into a bullseye.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson was lavish in his praise of Arnold. He could have sworn she would make her penalty. “It was almost like it was written in the stars when Macca walks up and takes that fifth one, right?” Gustavsson said.

“She saves one and then, you know, it’s meant to be. That’s how you feel. And then she hits the post, right? And then you go, ‘OK, maybe it wasn’t meant to be’. You go through all those emotions. I have to mention Macca, missing the penalty kick and staying in the game and being that player who wins the game for us. That mental strength of hers is just unheard of.”

Arnold was thinking “just make it stop,” at the end of the shootout. All’s well that ended well. The 29-year-old Arnold refused to be a goalkeeper in juniors, walking away from a training session on the Gold Coast and not returning for a couple of years.

Then she relented and took the gloves. Not a bad career move. She kept France scoreless for two hours of regular play before being in the thick of the shootout.

Her long and gruelling night at the office came while she continues to battle a virus.

Her eyes were red-rimmed and glassy after full-time.

“I haven’t been too well in the last couple of weeks,” she said. “So I’m still getting over that, hence the eyes. This isn’t tears. Yet. It’s not tears. You’ve just got to do your job and I was always going to play. I’m just overwhelmed.

“Australia has been absolutely insane for us throughout the whole tournament but especially in Brissy tonight. I’m definitely a proud Queenslander. It’s been unreal. I’m lost for words. Honestly. I’ve been trying to gather my thoughts … it’s still sinking in a little bit. At the end of the day, it’s is my job to keep my head in the game. Thankfully I could do that.”