Over the past 23 days, we've been looking back at our favourite moments from 2023, a year that saw us break history on home soil when we achieved our best-ever finish at a FIFA Women’s World Cup™.
See our list below. From the Cup of Nations, our new jerseys, the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ on home soil to the Round 2 of Olympic Qualifiers in Perth.
1. Lifting the Cup of Nations trophy
We kicked off 2023 on home soil with the return of the Cup of Nations, hosting Czechia, Spain and Jamaica in the tournament. Three wins for the side saw Australia lift the trophy for the second time.
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The tournament saw Clare Polkinghorne become Australia's most-capped player, we wore pride numbers for the first time to celebrate Sydney World Pride and Mackenzie Arnold was named Player of the Tournament after keeping two clean sheets.
2. Clare Polkinghorne becomes Australia's most-capped footballer
This year saw Clare Polkinghorne etch her name into history, becoming Australia's most-capped footballer when she made her 152nd appearance for Australia in their opening game of the year against Czechia.
Polkinghorne broke her fellow defender Cheryl Salisbury's record in her 152nd appearance, the defender marked her historic game with a goal against Czechia.
3. Welcoming three debutants into the family
Clare Hunt, Charlize Rule and Sarah Hunter all made their first appearances for Australia at the senior level this year. Hunt made her first appearance in Australia's opening game of the year, picking up an assist against Czechia in her first cap.
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Hunt went on to be named in Australia's FIFA Women’s World Cup™ squad and was one of three players to play every single minute of Australia's record-breaking campaign.
Rule and Hunter made their debuts alongside one another against Canada in Victoria, BC. The former Young Matildas made their starting debuts.
4. Injury returns, new kits and a first-ever goal
April saw Ellie Carpenter make her return from an ACL injury in Australia's game against Scotland in London. The FIFA International window also saw the debut of Australia's new kits, with the team wearing the away one in their game against Scotland and the home jersey against England.
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A 2-0 win over England saw Charli Grant score her first-ever senior goal for Australia, with Sam Kerr also scoring in the victory over the reigning UEFA Women's EURO Champions.
5. Getting the World Cup call-up
Five months later, these reactions are still everything. Our players react to getting called up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ squad!
Seven players were named to their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup™ squad.
6. Fed Square jersey presentation
Our FIFA Women’s World Cup™ squad were presented with their jerseys at Fed Square in Melbourne, with fans getting the chance to see the team during the presentation.
23 people named 'Matilda' came on stage and presented the team with their jerseys for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup™.
7. Meeting an Australian sporting icon
The squad were able to meet Australian sporting icon, Cathy Freeman, in Melbourne. Called into a team meeting by National Team staff, Freeman crept into the room to surprise the team.
The Olympic Gold medalists sat down with the team, answering a range of questions for over an hour. Freeman and her family were then invited to a team dinner, where she was presented with a signed jersey.
8. A record-breaking crowd in Melbourne
Our final game before the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ saw a crowd of 50,629 pack out Marvel Stadium as we beat France 1-0.
Mary Fowler scored the winner in front of a record-breaking crowd, the biggest-ever crowd for a standalone Matildas' game, which would be broken a week later in our opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™.
9. A night we'll never forget
Our first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup™ game on home soil saw 75,784 fans pack into Stadium Australia, with Steph Catley reflecting on her match-winning penalty.
A 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland saw Australia kick off their campaign with three points after Catley slotted her penalty in the 52nd minute.
10. Booking our spot in the Round of 16 in style
A 4-0 win over Canada at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in front of 27,706 fans saw Australia advance to the Round of 16 in style.
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A brace to Hayley Raso and goals to Mary Fowler and Steph Catley in Australia's final group stage game saw them defeat the Olympic Champions to finish 1st in Group B.
11. Advancing to the final eight
A 2-0 victory over Denmark saw us book our spot in the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ quarter-finals & what a game it was, Foord & Raso's celly, the captain armband swap & Kerr making her return!
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Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso found the back of the net as Australia booked their spot in the quarter-finals, with Sam Kerr making her return from injury in the game.
12. A dramatic penalty shoot-out victory
Australia advanced to the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ for the first-ever time after defeating France 6-5 on penalties at Brisbane Stadium.
Mackenzie Arnold made three outstanding saves, as the teams battled in the longest-ever penalty shoot-out in FIFA Women’s World Cup™ history.
13. Cue the party! Wild scenes in Brisbane/Meaanjin!
A real 'where were you when...' moment, Cortnee Vine scoring that history-making penalty, sending us to the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ semi-final!
The scenes in Brisbane will be one to remember forever, as Australians celebrated around the country the victory.
14. Mini joins the Centurion Club
Katrina Gorry made her 100th appearance in green & gold this year, and there was nothing Mini about the milestone.
Her teammates, family and friends discussed the milestone following Australia's semi-final game against England at Stadium Australia.
15. The wonder strike heard around the world
Sam Kerr scored an absolute worldie against England in the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ semi-final, nominated for a Puskás Award.
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Mini found the skipper just before halfway, and Kerr charged towards the goal, taking a long-range shot that sent the stadium and Australians around the world in pandemonium.
16. Making your World Cup debut on home soil
Eight players made their FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debut on home soil in this year's tournament, with five of the players making their debut in front of 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia.
Mackenzie Arnold, Cortnee Vine, Mary Fowler, Clare Hunt, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Alex Chidiac, Charli Grant and Courtney Nevin made their FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debuts.
17. 4th: Our best-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup™ finish
403, 136 fans, 7 games, attendance records were broken, countless jerseys printed, the MOST watched TV program since the OzTAM system began in 2001, newspaper covers and murals and 1 UNFORGETTABLE FIFA Women’s World Cup™.
Australia finished fourth at the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, finishing behind Spain, England and Sweden.
18. Strawberry Kisses surprise
After being Australia's unofficial World Cup anthem throughout the tournament, Nikki Webster came out to surprise the team and perform 'Strawberry Kisses'.
A celebration at Riverstage in Brisbane gave the public a chance to celebrate the teams' efforts over the past month, with the team receiving the keys to the city of Brisbane, which was Australia's base camp throughout the tournament.
19. Micah makes her return
After suffering a concussion in December 2022 that saw her sidelined for six months, Teagan Micah made her national team return and kept a clean sheet.
Micah made her return for Australia in their 2-0 win over IR Iran during the AFC Women's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024™️ Asian Qualifiers Round 2 (Asian Qualifiers) in Perth.
20. Clare Wheeler scores her first goal
Clare Wheeler scored her first senior goal for Australia in their 8-0 win over the Philippines in front of 59,155 fans in Perth.
The midfielder scored Australia's eighth and final goal of the game, finishing her shot from outside the box.
21. Advancing to the Round 3 of #Paris2024 Qualifiers
We booked our spot in the next stage of the AFC Women's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024™️ Asian Qualifiers after three wins in Perth, 13 goals scored and 2 memorable hat-tricks!
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Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord scored hat-tricks in a dominant 8-0 win over the Philippines, with the team booking their spot in Round 3 of qualifiers and setting up a clash with Uzbekistan in 2024 for a spot at the Paris 2024™️ Olympics.
22. Adding to the accolades
The team claimed The Don Award at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Marie Claire Australia's Champion of the Year, GQ Australia's 2023 Team of the Year and TikTok Australia's Sport Creator of the Year.
23. Reflecting on a massive year
As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ on home soil and the legacy the tournament will leave.