Forward Michelle Heyman couldn’t contain her joy after scoring the winning goal in the Matildas thrilling 6-5 victory over Zambia in Paris.
It was a remarkable game where Australia came from three goals down in the second half to secure all three points and keep their Olympic Games alive.
“This is such a good feeling, you know!” she began.
“It’s the never-say-die attitude. I just wanted to get on that field and give it my all. I really want that medal and I’ll do anything that I can to bring that home.”
Heyman’s comeback into the national team is one of the most remarkable Australian sporting stories of 2024. The 36-year-old spent six years in the national team wilderness before being recalled in February this year. She has been in irrepressible form since.
“Some days I just wake up and I go, holy sh--, I’m here, I’m doing it, I’m at the Olympics,” she exclaimed.
“I don’t know how many minutes I’m going to be playing this tournament. But as soon as I get on that field, I love this game and I want to give it my all. I do this for my country, I do it for my family, I do it for Christine [her partner].
“The love that I have for this game keeps me going. I’m just so proud to be a part of it.”
She reiterated the desire of the team to walk away with something from this tournament.
“We just kept digging,” the striker explained. “We knew we could do it. It was going to come, and we knew they were going to get tired.”
“That’s why I was happy to come on with fresh legs and run some rings around them and enjoy the game, and you could see that passion on the field. We were giving it our all and we never gave up.
“This is sport. High-scoring games are a little bit on the edge for everyone, but this is what we play to do. We love it.”
She finished with a message for the fans back home, who braved a 3 am start in the eastern states to watch.
“Thank you so much,” she said, “I bloody love it. I can’t wait to watch this [the reaction] back home and just hear everyone cheering us on.”
Australia takes on the United States in their final group match at 3 am AEST on Thursday, 1 August for a place in the Paris 2024 quarter finals at the Stade de Marseille, Marseille.
Australia v United States
Date: Wednesday 31 July 2024 (local) / Thursday 1 August 2024 (AEST)
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local) / 3.00am AEST
Venue: Stade de Marseille, Marseille, France
Broadcast: Channel 9, 9Now & Stan Sport (Australia)