As Australia’s victorious players embarked on a lap of honor, home fans danced and cheered joyously inside a sold out Brisbane Stadium on Saturday. Neither players or supporters had experienced anything like it before.
The Matildas had beaten France in an extraordinary penalty shootout to reach the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup for the first time. That history was made on home soil made victory all the sweeter.
“I think before the World Cup that’s what we were dreaming about – changing the football in this nation forever,” said Australia’s star striker Sam Kerr to reporters, speaking about Australia’s co-hosting of the event.
“It makes us feel so good and gives us the energy to perform for 120 minutes, so we’re loving it and, hopefully, it can carry on for a couple more weeks.”
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