Kyra Cooney-Cross, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, and their Australian Matildas teams had a disappointing start to the Paris Olympics campaign. Fans had high expectations for the Matildas, captained by Gunners women’s star Steph Catley, in Paris.
Most fans were certain that this time they would compete for gold, if not a podium finish. Well, a 3-0 defeat against Germany does not bode well for the Matildas’ quest for Olympic gold.
Despite a strong Australian lineup that included Caitlin Foord in attack, Cooney Cross in midfield, and Steph Catley in defence, Germany was able to restrict them.
Marina Hegering of Wolfsburg broke the tie in the 24th minute, giving Germany the lead. The Europeans had a one-goal lead going into the break. In the second half, Matildas were unable to mount a comeback as Bayern Munich’s Lea Schuller doubled Germany’s advantage in the 64th minute. Jule Brand of Wolfsburg made it 3-0 just four minutes later, in the 68th minute. Germany won 3-0, boosting their chances of winning an Olympic gold medal.
Australia will need to recover and try to rescue their predicament when they face Zambia and the United States. Caitlin Foord’s post-match reaction on Instagram shows that there is still hope in the Matildas camp.
“Opening game out of the way. We bounce back and get ready to go again,” Foord captioned her Instagram after the defeat to Germany.
Michelle Maxwell
