Matildas supporters streamed in opposition to Sydney’s Central Station chanting “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!” within the hours earlier than Women’s World Cup co-host Australia kicked off in opposition to Ireland.
The temper remained buoyant as a sea of yellow and inexperienced stuffed Stadium Australia at Sydney Olympic Park, turning into a part of the largest crowd ever for a girls’s football fit in Australia, introduced at 75,784 on Thursday.
“Who wouldn’t want to be here for the first match?” requested Katie Lynn, who traveled from Adelaide, 850 miles (1,370 kilometers) away, with female friend Jasmine Williamson. “I have not been to a sporting event this big before. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Williamson summed up the mood perfectly: “People that aren’t even football fans are interested.”
Sydney’s famed sporting atmosphere seemed subdued in the days leading up to the match. But game day brought out the fans, including a man dressed in a kangaroo costume who identified himself only as “Skippy.”
“Just coming down on the train, people were everywhere,” said Vanessa Ronksley, who lives in Sydney’s eastern beachside suburb of Coogee. “We can feel it now.”
Long-time friends Anthony Dunne and Kieran Bannon were among those who stopped by the FIFA Fan Festival at Tumbalong Park, on the southern edge of Darling Harbour. They came from Ireland to watch their national team’s first-ever Women’s World Cup match.
“Even before we (Ireland) qualified, we said, ‘If we get through, we’re going,'” Dunne said. “My girlfriend was at work, and pregnant at the time, and I rang her after the (qualifying) match, and basically asked for permission.”
The pleasure of the Australian enthusiasts used to be dampened for some time by means of the announcement an hour earlier than kickoff that Matildas megastar and captain Sam Kerr would leave out the fit as a result of a calf muscle harm. She may also leave out the July 27 fit in opposition to Nigeria in Brisbane.
But Australia’s 1–0 victory gave reason why for enthusiasts to be jubilant, even in Kerr’s absence.
“I haven’t stopped crying,” stated Canberra resident Lydia Randall, who used to be in Canada in 2015 when Australia reached the World Cup quarterfinals. “All the women deserve this.”
This tale has been printed from a twine company feed with out adjustments to the textual content.