MATILDAS HAIL WORLD CUP OPPORTUNITY

MATILDAS stars have hailed the “amazing, surreal” prospect of playing in a World Cup in Australia, as delight at the success in being chosen to jointly host the 2023 tournament reverberated around the football community. Already looking forward to the delayed Olympics next year, Ante Milicic’s squad will qualify automatically for the 2023 World Cup as co-hosts with New Zealand – an event they predict will “change the face of football forever”.

Several of the players were at Football Federation Australia’s HQ on Thursday night to hear the announcement. “It’s just amazing, just surreal,” said fullback Ellie Carpenter who has joined Olympique Lyonnaise, arguably the world’s biggest club. “You dream of playing in the Olympics and the World Cup, but to do so in your own back yard, in front of your own friends and family?

“That’s just something else, and the thought of crowds full of green and gold. If people don’t know how big the World Cup is, they soon will do.

“This will change the face of football. Even to this point, it has been amazing to see the growth in crowds and TV audiences for women’s football, but Australians love sporting events so much I can see every game being a sell-out. “People will come from across the globe to support their team.” Striker Kyah Simon predicted the lure of a home World Cup would ensure almost all the current squad seek to keep playing, helped by dramatically increased pay and conditions.

“I never thought, when I first signed up to play football aged eight, that there was even a chance of us hosting a World Cup,” said Simon. “The next three years will be massive.”