5 Matildas every Australian should know during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023

Steph Catley is the Matildas’ vice captain. She’s a defender who also plays for Arsenal in the UK, and she was basically born to play football. “I'd run up and down the sidelines [during my brothers’ games] and show off in front of the parents. I think they got a bit annoyed and were like, just throw her into the team. It was this moment for me where I felt like it was exactly where I was supposed to be – I felt a big sense of belonging, and a realisation that this was absolutely what I wanted to do. From that moment on, I became obsessed with getting better at it and wanted to play all the time. I found my way into a state representative team, and then that tumbled on and I got recognised by the youth national teams, and then eventually my Matilda's debut from there.”

Steph is undoubtedly one of the world’s best female football players, and she’s been a Matilda for an astonishing 13 years (since 2012), having played two World Cups prior to this Australian one. 

And, she scored Australia's first goal in the Matildas' first FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 game in Sydney, against Ireland, securing the win. How good.

If you don’t already know Matildas captain Sam Kerr, where have you been? She’s one of Australia’s favourite celebrities full stop, let alone one of our most popular athletes. As well as having 1.2 million followers on Instagram, she was this year named the ‘Most Influential Woman in Australian Sport’ by the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Wide World of Sports.

“She’s probably the world's best player, the world's best striker,” says Catley. “She's the definition of exciting to watch. She's always a chance to score goals. She's always causing defenses absolute chaos. I'm lucky enough to play on the same team as her.” Make sure you’re tuned into the Matildas games to witness not only Sam's goal kicking, but her legendary celebratory back flips.

Sadly, she was out of games one and two due to injury, but she was back in action for game three.

Defender Ellie Carpenter got her start early, so she’s ridiculously experienced for her age. She left her hometown of Cowra in regional NSW at age 12 to pursue a career in football. Her hard work paid off, and she was signed by the Western Sydney Wanderers as a 15-year-old, before moving over to Canberra United and winning ‘Young Footballer of the Year’ two years running. Ellie debuted for Australia soon after, during the side’s Rio 2016 Olympics campaign – at the time becoming the first international player born in the 21st century.

After a kickarse start to her international career, she also kicked arse in club life, spending three years playing in the US before a dream move to Europe's most successful side, Olympique Lyonnais, in France where she’s currently based. This will be the 23-year-old’s third World Cup. 

Passionate about the positive impact of soccer on girls, Ellie has now teamed up with sporting retailer Rebel, as well as Nike, to break down barriers to girls' participation in soccer. They've launched an interactive online program, GoalGirls, which offers educational and skills tutorials, all led by Ellie, to help girls with no soccer experience feel equipped to get involved.

“[I hope GoalGirls] encourages young girls across the country to lace up the boots, get out there and get involved in this incredible sport,” she says. “This is all about creating a space that helps girls feel empowered and shows just how much fun the beautiful game is.” Know a young woman aged 8 to 12 who could benefit from the free program? They can get involved over here.

Cortnee Vine is an impressive forward who’s making her World Cup debut this year – that said, she made her senior Australian debut back at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India. She’s played in the A-League Women’s league since 2015 (from age 15) and has represented loads of A-League clubs (her current Sydney FC, as well as the Western Sydney Wanderers, Newcastle Jets and Brisbane Roar).

She’s stoked to be playing her first World Cup on home soil, and about the hype around the competition. “There's been a growing interest and support for women's football across the globe," she says. "You can see from the recent Euros competition how much people got around women's football. I'm hoping the same effect happens after the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.”

Mary Fowler may be young, but, like Ellie Carpenter before her, she got her start early, debuting for Australia against Brazil in the Tournament of Nations 2018. She’s since played a World Cup (in France, 2019), an Olympics (Tokyo, 2020) and an Asia Cup (India, 2022). Steph Catley says Fowler is the up-and-comer to watch. “She's just got so much talent. She's so young, but she’s got a really good head on her shoulders and can do some incredible things on the football field. She’s scored so many goals – left foot, right foot. Yeah, she's definitely one to watch.”

And the question on everyone's lips... Why does Mary Fowler wear black gloves while she plays? Word on the street is she started wearing them on freezing days when playing for Manchester City – and she kept them on because she liked the way they feel. She has since added that she wears them because she gets "really fidgety". "Usually I train with a ring on, but if it’s cold, I wear gloves, and I can’t wear a ring in a match, so I usually wear gloves." Basically, she just does it "because it's my thing".