Footage of the Matildas’ raucous rendition of the team song has emerged after the FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosts stayed alive with a 4-0 drubbing of Canada.
The Australians celebrated long and hard on the pitch in Melbourne on Monday night – and now there’s proof they didn’t slow down.
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“It’s a grand old team to play for, and its a grand old team to see,” the Matildas sang on the team bus.
“And if you know the history, it’s enough to make your heart go woah. We don’t care what the other teams say, what the hell do we care.
“For we only know that there’s going to be a show and the Aussies will be there.”
The wild performance peaked when attention turned to the goals, suspense building with every question.
“Was it one? No! Was it two? No! Was it three? No! Was it four?! YES!”
The footage stirred up fans while Australian Paralympic gold medallist Rowan Crothers declared: “We’re changing the national anthem to this.”
The stirring performance followed an equally comprehensive showing on the pitch to book their spot in the knockout rounds.
Facing elimination, the Matildas took full advantage of the atmosphere in Melbourne created by their smallest crowd of the tournament to suffocate the reigning Olympic champions.
The manner in which they knocked out Canada – minus Sam Kerr, but with patience and a hard-nosed determination – has the team believing they can go on and do anything.
When asked about Australia’s tournament target, midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross was clear.
“To win the World Cup. That’s our main focus – to win the World Cup,” she said.
“But for now we’ll just take it one game at a time.”
Winger Cortnee Vine added: “If we play the football we’ve been playing, we can go all the way.”
If Australia can carry the belief from Monday night’s performance forward, there’s reason to believe.
“There was a fire in everyone’s eyes and I just knew everyone was out there to do everything they could to win at all costs,” stand-in skipper Steph Catley told reporters.
“It was a mature performance. (Canada) had a lot of the ball. They’re an incredible team. They defend well, they keep the ball, they create chances.
“So the way we defended together, and the way that we countered that, was mature.
“At times in the past, we’ve let moments like that get the better of us. It shows we’ve come a long way and we’re ready for a tournament like this.”
Defender Ellie Carpenter said the backs-to-the-wall nature of the Canada clash inspired the Matildas’ victory.
“But we need this every match now and we’re not going to get too far ahead of ourselves,” she said.
“We need to reproduce that performance – because if we play like that, we can beat anyone.”
– with Anna Harrington, AAP
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