Biggest crowd for a football match in Sydney since last year’s Women’s World Cup Final at the same venue and the biggest Matildas’ crowd for the year.
With a home Women’s Asian Cup and the Women’s World Cup in Brazil on the horizon, the Matildas are our #1 sporting team in Australia
Let’s go!! What a crowd at ANZ last night 
Following the WWC, hopefully the Matildas euphoria continues, Paris should be fun. Contrast to the Socceroos and Olyroos now.
The win plus Palestine’s nil-all draw with Lebanon means the Socceroos will finish on top of Group I. However, Australia need to beat Palestine in Perth next Tuesday in order to claim six wins out of six, so they can have a better chance in the third round qualification draw.
Lebanon’s 4-0 thrashing of Bangladesh in the later match means Palestine also progressed to the next stage, by finishing second behind Australia in Group I.
The draw for the third round of AFC World Cup qualifiers will be held at Kuala Lumpur on June 27.
Heard on the radio that Australia is only the third team ever to have no goals scored against them in this stage of qualifying.
Daily Mail Australia understands that the idea for the major announcement twist was Kerr’s.
The draw for third stage of AFC World Cup 2026 qualification was held in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. The top two teams from each group qualify directly for the tournament in North America, with two more spots available through an Asian playoff and an intercontinental playoff.
A long-standing dispute within the women’s soccer community in Australia has erupted after FA moved to award the 16 members of the team – which was almost entirely drawn from the St George Budapest club (of Sydney), but travelled to the 1975 Asian Cup Ladies Football Tournament and competed in Australian colours – with ‘A’ international caps on the recommendation of a panel of four overseas-based experts.
Pat O’Connor – who wore the armband in Hong Kong – will be regarded as the Matildas’ first captain in FA’s official records, not Dolan.
The issue revolves around whether the 1975 team should be regarded as fully-fledged internationals because of the absence of a competitive selection process. St George Budapest were invited to play at the tournament and had gained permission from Sir Arthur George, the chair of the FIFA-affiliated Australian Soccer Federation, to wear the national colours and coat of arms – although the ASF had no involvement at the time with the women’s game, which was run by the Australian Women’s Soccer Association, formed a year earlier.
MATILDAS CONFIRM CANADA FIXTURE IN PREPARATION FOR PARIS 2024™ OLYMPIC GAMES
The Matildas will play reigning Tokyo 2020™ Olympic gold medallists, Canada, in the south of Spain in a final international fixture before commencing their Paris 2024™ Olympic Games campaign.
Australia and Canada will face off on Saturday, 13 July 2024 at 9.00pm CEST (Sunday, 14 July at 5.00am AEST) in Marbella, where both nations will be situated for their pre-Olympic training camps.
With both nations set to take part in the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament from 25 July – 10 August 2024, to assist in their final preparations, be played under “B” international conditions and will not be open to the public.
Australian fans will be able to watch the action between the Matildas and Canada live and exclusive on Paramount+ thanks to Football Australia’s broadcast partner 10 Paramount.
Head Coach Tony Gustavsson said: “Taking on a nation with the Olympic calibre of Canada will be a great analysis opportunity for us less than two weeks out from our opening match of Paris 2024™.”
“Canada are a unique opponent as not only does their squad feature world class players, as a team they also have several attributes in terms of their playing style that mirrors what we will come up against in our group stage competitors.
“With the fixture taking place following two weeks of an intensive training block, the match will allow us to continue building and testing playing partnerships and firming new dimensions to our own game plan,” concluded Gustavsson.
Australia (current world number 12) and Canada (current world number 8) last met on 6 December 2023 with the Canadians recording a tight 1-0 victory at BC Place in Vancouver.
The Matildas will opening their Paris 2024™ Olympic Games tournament twelve days later when they face current world number 4, Germany, at Stade de Marseille on 25 July 2024 (7.00pm local).
MATCH DETAILS | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY
Australia v Canada
Date: Saturday, 13 July 2024 (local) / Sunday, 14 July 2024 (AUS)
Time: 9:00pm (local) / 5.00am (AEST)
Venue: Marbella, Spain
Broadcast: Paramount+
Spain have won Euro 2024 title, beating England 2-1 in the final in Berlin. It is Spain’s fourth European Championship, their first since 2012.
UPDATE 16/7: two days after the Euro 2024 final defeat, Gareth Southgate resigned as England manager.
Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in the Copa America final in Miami, thanks to Lautaro Martinez’s goal in extra time second half. Argentina have now become the most successful team in tournament history with 16 titles, one ahead of Uruguay.
The A-Leagues has announced Mitre will become it’s new official match ball sponsor, ending a long-term partnership with Nike.
