Matildas’ Cooney-Cross levels the pitch with Germany after 19 years

Playing alongside a veteran* and a superstar has meant Australian footballer Kyra Cooney-Cross hasn’t made many headlines during her campaign with the Matildas – until now.

The 22-year-old has played a crucial role in ending the team’s longstanding domination by top tier rivals Germany with a historic 2-1 win for the Matildas.

The Matildas hadn’t won against Germany, Olympic bronze medal winners and World No. 4, since 2005.

At their last meeting, Germany won 3-0, which heralded* the start of the Matildas’ disastrous Olympic campaign.

Despite Germany being a goal ahead just five minutes into the game, the Matildas won the game after Cooney-Cross equalised* the score with a goal in the 39th minute, before Clare Hunt headed* in the winning goal at 77 minutes.

The Matildas will be back in Australia for the next international window at the end of November – they will play two games against Brazil in Queensland then head to Victoria for a two-game series with Chinese Taipei.

SPOTLIGHT ON KYRA COONEY-CROSS

Cooney-Cross gained worldwide recognition during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup when a tweet from Arsenal legend Ian Wright paved the way for the midfielder’s move to the English WSL club in a deal worth $270,000.

But since then, she has flown relatively under the radar when playing for Australia.

She may not receive as much press as some of her teammates, but the Matildas’ game against Germany marked Cooney-Cross’s 50th appearance in the green and gold.

She is the second fastest Australian woman to achieve the feat – knocking up the milestone in three years and 140 days.

THE GOAL THAT LEVELLED THE SCORE
So, how did Cooney-Cross level the playing field with Germany – a superstar side that had remained unbeaten by the Matildas for almost 20 years?

The player was a workhorse* in the midfield against Germany after being given a lot more freedom in temporary coach Tom Sermanni’s revamped* formation.

Unlike the game against Switzerland just a few days ago, or as she was during the Olympic campaign, Cooney-Cross was not forced back to make room for Mary Fowler.

With Fowler pushed to a much more sensible position alongside Caitlin Foord, Cooney-Cross was given more room to move.

As the clock wound down in the first half – the Matildas down 0-1 – Cooney-Cross knocked in the spectacular goal from just inside the half to level the scores and claim her first-ever goal for the Matildas.

She had the vision to spot the German keeper was off her line and the technical ability and skill to bang the ball into the net – silencing all but the few Aussie fans scattered throughout the stadium.

Sermanni said it was one of the best goals he had seen during his time as a Matildas coach.

“It just shows how much quality and ability she has and vision,” Sermanni said.

“She got herself in a position which you could have taken it forward but she spotted the goalkeeper off the line and finished it perfectly.

“Kyra is the kind of player who can be the real backbone of this team for a long time to come.

“She’s certainly a very important player for us in midfield, she’s comfortable in possession*, she can dribble, she can pass with both feet – it’s just a question of her continuing to develop – she is well on her way to being a world-class player.”

HOW HAVE THE MATILDAS CHANGED?
Cooney-Cross wasn’t the only one to benefit from Sermanni’s slight change to the starting line-up since previous coach Tony Gustavsson left.

Fowler, wearing her trademark gloves, had a much-improved performance.

Foord might have dominated the daring runs and Australia’s few shots at goal but Fowler was free to give it a go – her balls in the danger zones often creating good opportunities for scoring points.

The Manchester City star certainly looked much more at home with the ball at her feet.

With a number of Matildas expected to retire or take reduced roles come the 2026 Asian Cup, finding out how to get the best out of next generation players such as Fowler, Wheeler, Kaitlyn Torpey and Cooney-Cross will be crucial for whoever takes over as the permanent coach.

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GLOSSARY

• veteran: someone who has played on the team or in the sport for a long time
• heralded: announced the start of something
• equalised: levelled
• headed: when players use their head to hit and guide the ball
• workhorse: hard worker
• revamped: reorganised
• possession: controlling the ball

EXTRA READING
Massive Football Australia boost
Matildas waltzing to Paris Games
Matildas’ home goals biggest wins

QUICK QUIZ
1. How many games has Kyra Cooney-Cross played for the Matildas?
2. When was the last time Australia beat Germany?
3. Which two Australian players scored goals in the match against Germany?
4. What is the name of the person who has temporarily taken over as coach of the Matildas?
5. Which country will the Matildas play against next?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Sports talk
After reading this Kids News article about Matildas rising star, Kyra Cooney-Cross, write down some sports specific language used in the text and its corresponding meaning.

Sports Talk                  Meaning
1. Smashing                  Beating a team convincingly

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Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
In the article it notes some positive changes to the team since Tom Sermanni has taken over coaching the Matildas. What were the changes the writer thinks helped the Matildas secure this win over Germany?

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Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Exercise the body and the mind
Exercise is not only important for the body, but it’s a lot of fun as well. Let’s bring more exercise into classroom learning by creating a VCOP PE game.

You can add a VCOP challenge to pretty much any game, and it’s a great way to encourage the teacher to let the class play more games.

Here is an example to get you started, then you create one of your own.

VCOP dodge ball
The normal rules of dodge ball apply. Two teams throw soft balls at each other and if you get hit, you have to sit out. The team who knocks out all the players on the other team, wins.

VCOP challenge: when you get eliminated, collect a mini-whiteboard and a basic clause from the sidelines. Up-level the sentence (make it better) by adding VCOP. When you show the teacher your completed sentence, you can return to the game.

Play for a set amount of time and the team with the most players left on the court wins.

Support: use the “Up-Level It” card set – players have to complete one card from the set instead of completing all VCOP challenges.

What can you come up with?