CommBank Matildas vice-captain Ellie Carpenter spoke to the media on Tuesday about the team’s preparation for Paris 2024™ and their mindset heading into their International B Fixture against Canada.
Plying her trade at club level for Olympic Lyonnais in France, the 24-year-old voiced her excitement to be a part of an Olympic Games in a country she is intimately familiar with.
“The country is very excited,” she expressed. “Even in January, February, the hype had already started to build, especially in Paris.
“Where we are playing – Marseille, Nice – they’re massive footballing cities. The stadiums are amazing, and I’m sure the fans are very excited to be hosting us. France always holds great tournaments and great sporting spectacles… I think it’s going to be amazing.
“A lot of teammates, friends and family will be there to support, which is quite rare to have at a major tournament overseas. So it's very exciting.”
The full-back said that the training camp in Spain had been an opportunity to fine-tune elements of their game ahead of the tournament.
“One area we thought we could really improve [post-World Cup] was playing out of the back,” she explained. “You’re playing through the midfield a little bit more, and breaking those lines in our defense and the midfield.
“We’ve been working really well on that lately, and we’ve had some very good performances in the last six months. The training camp has also been really important for that… we’re looking forward to showcasing that against Canada.”
After consecutive fourth-place finishes at Tokyo 2020™ and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, Carpenter emphasised the team’s desire to finish with a medal in Paris.
“Coming fourth at an Olympics is honestly the worst place you could come,” she admitted, “and obviously last year, I think we’re all still feeling that, we all still remember that feeling of losing the medal match, losing the semis and not being in that gold medal match. We don’t want to repeat that feeling.”
“Obviously, if you look at the teams, we’re ranked 10th out of the 12. We love a little bit of that underdog mindset. But for us, we’re putting that expectation on ourselves. We’re going to each game wanting to win. Our focus is on that first game against Germany to hopefully start the tournament off very well and get three points in the bank.”
Carpenter said that the team had grown immensely since Tokyo 2020™, with the experience of a home World Cup last year hardening the squad to dealing with big games and big moments.
“I was actually talking to a teammate from England a couple of months ago,” Carpenter recalled, “they said, ‘what you guys did in Australia, how you guys coped with that pressure, honestly, that mentally prepares you and builds you for any challenge coming for your team.’
“That really resonated with me because I think we’re ready for that, we’ve experienced it. This Olympics is our best shot at repeating that but we want to take that further step to actually medaling, to being on the podium. I think we’re more than capable this Olympics to do that," she continued.
“We’re in such a great position with depth, with selection. Everyone is fit and firing to go. Yeah, so I’m really excited about it.”
Carpenter was named as joint vice-captain for the tournament alongside Emily van Egmond. Despite her young age, she’s been in the side for nearly a decade – and is taking the leadership responsibility in her stride.
“To be honest, I don’t feel much expectation or pressure,” she explained. “When I was named vice captain, I just kept being me, I didn’t change anything.
“I think that’s why I was chosen to be in that role. I just continued to do me, on and off the field. I think that’s what makes me a natural leader. I don’t feel any expectations, the girls are amazing. I’ve been in this team for nearly 10 years now, I think we’re all on the same page.
“But it is a very proud moment. I’m very honoured to be named [vice-captain] and to be alongside Steph [Catley] and Emily [van Egmond] and obviously Sam [Kerr] as well. Looking up to these girls when I was younger, and now being a part of this leadership group as well, is very special.”