Feels like team spirit

Ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup heading Down Under to crown a new team of champions, The Weekly catches up with the Matildas to talk about the ties that bind them and the women who motivate them.

- MARLEE SILVA

“Inspiring. That’s the word.” This is how Matildas’ defender Alanna Kennedy describes the way she feels as she looks at her teammates and their families in the dining room of a hotel. It’s one of the rare times the squad has been together in the lead-up to the FIFA World Cup and the room bubbles with soft murmurs as the team enjoys lunch.

On a round table Katrina Gorry, 30, feeds her one-year-old daughter. Ellie Carpenter, 23, sits alongside her, attempting to entertain the little one. Across the room Tameka Yallop, 31, and her partner watch their toddler waddle close by as many other players stop to say hello, each beaming at the sight of the child.

“The way they prepare themselves as professional athletes and have the responsibility of a little child,” 28-year-old Alanna continues, “is so inspiring to watch. And I think it just speaks to how amazing they are as women.”

It’s abundantly clear this group of Australia’s best female football talent is a tight-knit community which embraces family. So, letting cameras into what captain Sam Kerr describes as the “sacred” environment of the Matildas to film the Disney+ original series Matildas: The World At Our Feet was something the usually private striker was hesitant about at first.

“Just because the culture and team environment in a performing area is quite sacred to us,” Sam, 29, tells