Matildas: The World at Our Feet (2023): Season 1, Episode 3 - A Special Bond - full transcript

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Building up the suspense

Oh!

For it's a grand old team to play for

For it's a grand old team to see

And if you know the history

It's enough to make your heart go

We don't care what the other team says

What the hell do we care

For all we know

Is that there's going to be a show

And the Aussies



Will be there

- Was it one?
- No

- Was it two?
- No

- Was it three?
- No

There's just
something about the team.

Kinda like this, just, bond that you have.

Fight like family,
but then you make up like family.

When one of us
are down or need a helping hand,

you feel grateful to be
in such a loving team like we are.

Aussies, we have ticker, you know?
Like, we have the biggest heart.

And I think this team
is something special.

There's so much more
that goes into it.

It's not just about the 90 minutes
that people see.

We've gone through way bigger things
than sport together.



Matildas is a special place.

Good afternoon, everyone,
and welcome aboard.

Your service is to Canberra.

We'd like to welcome Matildas
on board today.

Do take your seats soon.

You're sitting next
to the worst person

'cause I'm terrified of flying.

Oh, you are? Yeah?

These little planes don't go good for me.

Hello, how are you?

Being from Australia,
we like to come home

and play games here,
in front of our Aussie fans.

But for a lot of us
who are based overseas,

that means a lot of travel,

a lot of different time zones,
and jet lag.

Fine.
Yeah?

Yeah, just tired.
I didn't sleep very well.

I slept good, but not long.
Still jet lagged, you know?

Usually we play,
we get straight on a flight,

and then we have to play again.

So as a mom, you're exhausted,
but you're so fulfilled.

Good evening, folks.

Hi, everyone. How are you?

Being a sportsperson,
you don't live a normal life.

You live such a crazy life.

Like, I feel like no one understands

the life of an athlete
unless you are one.

But I love it.

Matildas!

Please welcome our
CommBank Matildas to Viking Park.

Obviously, a huge game
on Friday night in Townsville

so spectacular for the girls
to get the win.

How are they feeling looking forward
to the game on Tuesday night?

I think for all of us,
it was an emotional roller-coaster,

and those last minutes
was definitely emotional,

but I'm so happy for the players.

I think scoring two goals in extra time
says a lot about these players

and the never-say-die attitude,
but it's important to learn

how to come down from that,
and then refocus.

We have a game coming up.

Well, we are so happy to have you here

so happy to have the Matildas here.

Please give Tony Gustavsson
a very warm welcome.

Thank you.

Sam!

Hello.

Football's nothing without the fans.

Good luck Tuesday, Sam.
Thank you.

I always do what I can for a fan,
'cause I remember when I was a kid

looking up to someone,
a little handshake

or fist bump would go a long way
to just make my day.

Good luck to you.
- Thank you.

Can you please sign my top?
- Yeah, of course.

I never thought that I would be
on someone's jersey.

Yeah, I never thought that
I would be a role model.

Here you go.

- Can I take a photo?
- Yeah.

For me, it's important
to impact the next generation.

- Can I take a photo?
- Yeah, you want me to take it?

Especially country girls and boys.

You don't get much opportunity out there.

Growing up, I lived
20 minutes out of Cowra.

So, literally in the middle of nowhere,
but I loved it.

I pretty much did every sport
under the sun, really, when I was younger.

I think my parents always gave me
the best opportunity to be something.

Yeah, around 10, 11, they kind of thought
we have to move to Sydney.

Like, it's not possible
to make it from the country.

I left school, like, I dropped out
and I was in year nine.

I don't think I ever was a teenager,
you know? I skipped that.

Kind of went from, like, a kid
to an adult overnight.

But this is the kinda path I wanted.

I just wanna reach my potential

and be the best that I can be.

- There we go.
- Thank you so much.

- No worries. Nice to meet you
Thanks, guys.

Thanks for coming out.
Last one. Love you all.

Love you all. Love you all. Love you all.
I'll do it Tuesday, I promise.

Sam, I made you a bird.
- Do you want me to sign the front?

The fans are so loving
and so adoring of the Matildas.

I think it's always nice to be on a team
that people care about,

that people expect results from.

Sorry, guys.
Tuesday, I promise. I promise.

That's what you want. You want everyone
to expect you to win

and to be at the top of your game.

Hey, great quality.
Good stuff. Set the standards.

It's my job,
together with my coaching staff,

to pick the best team available
for the World Cup '23.

Who's in form, who's available,
who's injured?

Every player at this level wants to get
as many minutes as possible.

That's one of the tough pieces of being
a coach, you can't please everyone.

Yes, Mini, play forward if we can.

Every day,
every training session,

every game is super critical for me

to show what I can do,
and I'll be doing whatever I can

to put my hand up
for that World Cup selection.

Just a reminder here, what we're doing,
two small games.

Not long, but let's make sure we have
high tempo in everything we do. Okay?

Let's go, girls.
- Yes. Okay. Let's go!

Good. Yeah.
- Good. Move the ball.

Good communication, Alanna.
Yes. Break lines.

As an athlete at the top,
you always have to be at your best

because someone's knocking on the door

or coming up through the ranks
to take your spot.

Go! Go! Go!

Look at the ball.
Nice, Alanna.

World Cup 2023
would be a dream come true,

and I'll be working towards that every day
between now and then.

That's better.
That's where we want it.

Go!
- Good!

Good!

Ellie, inside, width of the box.

This camp is the start
of our journey to 2023,

and this is where we have to start
laying the foundations

and that winning mentality
inside of us that we...

Everything we do from now on is to win

and to be prepared come next year.

Phenomenal training today.
Bring that quality into the game tomorrow

and it's gonna be a fun game to watch.

All right. Good job.
Great pre-training session.

Good job, everyone.

Morning, TG.
Hey, hey. How you doing?

Hi, hey. Tony. Tony. Good to see you.

Do you know how many is here live?

Yep. So, we've got three cameras inside,

we've got two reporters,
and we've got six online.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

- Hello, everyone.
How are you?

As a coach,
you need to realize

that you're never better
than your last game.

So, if you won, you're good.
If you lost, you're worth nothing.

Do you really trust me

having the cell phones on the floor,
right in front of me?

Apparently so.

As always,
for the pre-match press conference,

we have head coach
of the CommBank Matildas, Tony Gustavsson.

Performance-wise,
a really good opening game

against New Zealand,
but the result was tight.

It was only a 2-1 win.
Should've been much more.

We didn't put away the chances.
They scored one.

It was 1-0 in the 90th minute.

So what changes this time
are you gonna make?

Yes, I know we were down 1-0,
but I think the way we played

didn't really match that result
at the time.

What we have looked at, though,
is converting the chances that we create.

Tony,
you do get a fair bit of criticism.

Do you think that's fair?

Or do you feel that
you should only be judged

when you've reached the end
of that road in the World Cup?

Good question.

I think being a head coach in this job,
there's always going to be criticism.

It's a part of the elite sport,
and I think we have played

too many low-ranked teams in the past
to be prepared for tournaments.

So I'm ready to take that criticism
because I believe in that process so much.

What I need to do, is number one,
is I need to show the belief.

And I wouldn't have taken this job

if I didn't genuinely believe
in this team,

but we have some improvement areas
to work on to make sure

we reach our full potential, come '23.

Thanks, everyone, and we'll
see you next time for the post-match.

- Thanks, everyone. Thank you.
Thank you.

Thank you very much.
- Thank you.

See you tomorrow.

Are you okay?
- You wanna give knuckles?

- You wanna give knuckles?
Knuckles?

Let's do it. Are you going to cook
with me today, stir the pot?

- Yeah?

Yes?
- Yeah.

Hungry? This means you're hungry?

Shall we do spaghetti?

Yeah, it's a pasta night.

Tonight is a big Bolognese
and pasta night.

So the night before the match
is very busy.

- Mushrooms?
I'll have some mushrooms.

Of course.

He's head chef. Okay?

That was very good?

Smells yummy. Doesn't it?

I think the meal room
is where we feel welcome.

We feel connected together.

Yum.

Of course, primary focus
is the performances, the girls.

But we wanted the mothers
to be focused on the match.

So if we care for the children,
they'll be focused on the match as well.

And that's the idea.

- That's great.
- Good cooking. Whoa!

Good cooking.

You can grab some.
Yum!

Doubling up?
That's awesome.

The mealtime
in national team camp,

it's a nice time
where we all come together.

We're not allowed phones
at dinner and stuff,

so it's a really nice way to connect
and, you know, just be in the present.

It does feel like we're going back

to family every time we are in camp,
with how close we all are with each other.

I definitely think we have
a different variety of personalities

within the team, but I think that's what
makes us, as the Matildas team, special.

Did you have one bowl?

Everyone is their own person,
but we're also so proud to be there.

And, yeah, we'll always represent
the green and gold with huge honor.

The Matildas take on
New Zealand tonight in Canberra

as they continue preparations

for next year's Women's World Cup.

They didn't exactly shine
in their last match against New Zealand

on Friday night, though, did they?

The execution just wasn't quite there.

I'm sure Tony Gustavsson would much prefer
that the winners come

significantly earlier
than 90 past four minutes.

She'll be too short to see it.

Are the players too short
to see stuff up there?

Yes. Are you kidding me?

I reckon some would be, wouldn't they?

Can you close the door, Paddy?

All right, game day. We love game days.

Short summary of what
we're focusing on today.

We need to progress
the ball quickly today.

Quick decision. Quick ball movement.

So, just don't get into those
one-on-one duels, all right?

It's all about converting
in that final third,

to be 100% focused in that final passing
and the finishing.

We agree on that?

So that's the tactics. That's the head.
Let's go to the heart.

What this team is about, it's not just
the Matilda family in this room.

It's been amazing to see the kids
in here in this camp.

It's been amazing to meet
all your family members,

all present during the game.

And I'm actually gonna honor my father
tonight as well on my shoes

'cause my father had
a heart surgery last week.

So he's also with us today. He's okay,
but he's with us today as well.

And so is Noah. Aivi, where are you?

So is Noah tonight. You told me
you didn't want it to be a disturbance

with getting that fundraising in.

There's never a disturbance when it comes
to family members in this team.

Noah is my youngest brother.

Recently he was diagnosed
with a brain tumor.

So, I wanted to use this opportunity

to fundraise towards
brain cancer research.

My plan is to fundraise
as much as possible

and after the game in Canberra,
shave my head.

I actually
have that in here now.

It's up to $27,280, right now.

And there's an anonymous sponsor
that said that,

"If that target is not met by kickoff,
it will be met."

Yeah!

So enjoy.

Appreciate it.

Aivi is gonna get
her head shaved.

- On the field?
Yeah, on the field.

We just might need, if you got,
like, a plastic bag or something

that we can put her ponytail in
'cause she's donating it.

Would you like that for your pockets,
so then it's nearby?

Yeah, that would be good.
That would be beautiful.

All right, let's go.
Let's move a little faster!

Canberra, seeing the Matildas

for the first time since June 2013.

More than 13,000 fans
in for this one.

Matildas are gonna win tonight.
If they don't, I'll be sad.

Go, Matildas!

The Matildas hoping
for a clinical display,

and one where they can, perhaps,
show their ruthless goal-scoring edge.

We won at Townsville. So it's absolutely
the end of a losing streak.

We're on a roll now. One-game streak
counts for something, so...

- Yeah, one in a row.
- We'll take any wins at this point.

Do you want them to be ruthless
against New Zealand?

I think we show how ruthless we can be

when we played Indonesia in the Asian Cup
and went 18-0,

but we need to be humble enough as well.

Last two games has been 2-1
against New Zealand,

so it might be very tight as well,
and we need to fight all the way.

Sam's always been a really shy person.

I mean, she won't let anyone
push her around,

but she kind of gets
still a bit nervous, I think.

When we won the other night,
I couldn't believe it.

Hopefully, we get an early one,
and we can sit and relax a little bit.

Any time you play for your
national team, it's important to win.

But against New Zealand,
it's like a little bit more.

We have to
hit the ground running.

I think everything now needs to be
in preparation for 2023 World Cup.

Your captain, Sam Kerr!

We have
so many amazing moments

but we're missing the medals,

we're missing the trophies.

And I think that's where
we're all determined,

now more than ever, to actually win.

We wanna win, you know,
everything that we're playing for.

Advance Australia Fair

The focus is so sharp on Australia,

given that every match is now

very much in the context of countdown
to the World Cup opener.

Three, two, one, go!

New Zealand came out
with a bit of a physical game plan.

They'd come out wanting to beat us.

They'd come out fighting.

We think that we can give it back as well.

Hit it!

Third corner of the night
for Australia. Kerr scores!

- There it is! There it is!
- Yes, Sammy! Yes.

Fowler, dancing into
the attacking half once again.

Great ball.

Katrina Gorry,

Raso, the second ball,
the follow-up from Raso.

Against the top teams
in the world,

you won't get many opportunities.

So, we gotta make sure that

when they do come, we're ruthless.

And again. And again.

Over the top,
Kerr has sprung the defense.

Sam Kerr has a double!

It's 3-0 in Canberra,
and Sam Kerr is smiling.

She's the best player
in women's football history.

Yeah. History, lad.

Best. She scored two goals.

Yallop fouled.

It's always a tough
physical game against New Zealand.

Aggressive, that rivalry spirit.

Win at absolute all costs.

If it means take people's legs out,
you do what you gotta do.

We go into games knowing that
they're gonna be rough.

And I think ourselves... I know I am.
I'm pretty rough myself.

You just keep fighting
and you keep playing.

Raso,
you heard the clash of boots there.

Medical staff out tending to her.

Even if it gets to the point

of a physio having to come
and check you.

We've got that about us
where we don't wanna be taken off.

We don't wanna stop. We wanna keep going,
keep fighting, keep playing.

And the good signs are
she's able to get up and walk it off.

It was the 60th minute or so,
I won the header.

Alanna Kennedy
has gone down hurt.

The girl's head
flicked into the side of my nose.

I did hear and feel a big crack.

That was pretty painful.

I actually was trying to ask the girls
around me, like, "Is my nose okay?"

'Cause I thought it was...

God, I didn't know where it was.

Is it a break?
That's the question. Or is it...

Oh, my God.

- She's seeing herself on the scoreboard...
Oh, my God.

...here on the big screen.

"Oh, my God" was the reaction.

Yeah, I got it put back in
in the change room.

A team doctor pulled my nose back in.

She's playing
with such confidence right now.

Yeah, 100%.

And the full-time whistle goes.

When we're all at our best,
and we're clicking on the field,

and we're playing good football,

that level of football
is what's needed at the World Cup.

You've been phenomenal in terms of focus
on what you can control.

Two good games, two wins.
This is the closure of the camp now,

so that you can enjoy the time
with your families tonight.

Safe travels.
Good luck in your club, okay?

Looking forward to see you next camp.
Good job, everyone.

She looks so cute.

Sam!

We love you, Aivi!

Yeah, Aiv!

Hey, Tony.
Can you just talk to me

a little bit about this special moment

out on the pitch at the end of the match?

You reference Aivi?

Yeah, definitely.

Just give me a sec.

Apologies, I get emotional here
because it's so much more than football

and this team shows that
so much every day.

This looks good.

And the way
they come together with Aivi.

And this is what we're about.
We share our scars,

and we're in this together, you know?

When Aivi sits down
and the team is circled up,

and even the opposition team is circled up
and kinda showing the world that, okay,

out there we're oppositions,
and we compete.

But off the field, we stand together
in something that is bigger than that.

It's so much more than football.

Hey!

Yay!

Thanks, guys.

It looks good. No, it does.

You guys got the matching haircuts now.

- I love you.
- Thank you so much.

Love you.

Thanks so much, girl.
Appreciate you.

Appreciate you.

As athletes,
people are always asking things of you,

whether it's your agent, your family.

The club's always asking,
"Can you do this?"

The national teams. So, like,
I'm really bad at saying no to people.

Are we starting? Sorry I was late.
I was stuck in traffic.

Hello, how are you?

The attention that women's football
is getting on a global stage

is just astronomical.
This is a full-time job.

When they're not playing
for their country,

they're playing for their clubs.
They only have a few little weeks' break

throughout the year. And the demand
on their time and on their bodies is huge.

- Hey, so when are you going to London?
- What's up?

- Tonight. Straight from here.
- Nice.

I'm still in Australia,
and this weekend I'm playing Arsenal.

- Thank you.
Nice to meet you.

And we arrive Thursday,
travel to North London on Saturday,

so it's just nonstop.

- There you go.
Thanks so much.

- Hey, how old are you?
- Eight.

- Are you gonna play for the Matildas?
- Yeah.

Hell yeah. Let's do a photo.

- Thanks.
- There you go.

I love what I do, and I feel better when
I just keep going, and going, and going.

Obviously, there's times
when you need breaks.

But yeah, it's madness, but I love it.

- Awesome header last night.
- Guys, thank you. Thank you.

- Photo?
- Yes, please.

Thanks for lining up and waiting.
Thank you!

Good girl!

We are packing up
to head to Sweden

for eight months.

Travel is stressful, and now,
I have to think about someone else.

Yeah, it's a big adventure,

and tough to say goodbye to all my family.

For us to be better footballers,
we have to test ourself against,

you know, the best players in the world,

and, yeah, we have to pack up our bags
and head off for,

you know, sometimes years, which,
yeah, is pretty hard.

Especially because I'm a very
family person.

So, to not have my family around
is really hard.

My family, for them to be in the stands
at a 2023 World Cup,

that motivates me more than anything.

Oh, the car seat.

For me, it's Harper now.

I remember being in the hospital

and kind of promising her
that I would do whatever I could

to make it to the 2023 World Cup

and do whatever I could to get me there.

Three baby items and two luggage.

To not be selected in the World Cup squad
is not an option for me.

I'll be doing whatever I can
to get myself in that team.

Love you.

I'll see you in five weeks.

I'm proud of you.

Thank you.

Love you.
Love you.

Thank you for everything.

Lots of different emotions.
We've been used to Katrina going away.

It's just suppose it's different now,
with Harper.

I love you.

Katrina is so determined,

and she wants to make that World Cup team
and wants to perform at her best level,

and this is the only way
that she can do it, so...

See you.
Safe travels.

We'll just miss them.

It's a good thing.

I know.

- Bonjour!
Bonjour!

Bonjour!

What are you gonna go for?

Pink or red?

After the Canberra game,
I headed back to Lyon

to finish up the season.

And when I'm not on the pitch,
I like to enjoy life, and be relaxed,

and do things that make me happy.

I feel like I should be going on a holiday
tomorrow with these nails.

Yeah.

I am like
a country girl at heart.

And I can go rough and go camping
and not shower for, you know, weeks.

But since living in Europe,

I'm just, like, nails every week,
eyebrows, hair, like, facials.

My mom laughs at me. She goes, "Ellie,"
like, "how many Louis Vuitton bags

"do you have now?"

I'm like, "Oh, just a couple."

It's me now, you know, like, I love it.

Un, deux, trois...

Sometimes when I go
to the training, I'm like,

"Whoa, this is how far I've come," like,
you know? Like, sometimes I think that.

Wait. Oh!

I think I have to run for that one.

It's always been a goal of mine
to be here in Lyon,

and be amongst these world-class players.

It's known as the best club in the world
for women's football,

but the pressure of obviously playing
at such a high club, high-intensity games,

we're week in, week out, flying 30 hours,

playing two international games,
flying back.

I feel like I'm quite fatigued.

But we're all just looking forward
to this Champions League final.

This is like everything
that we've worked for.

And then, I am, like, so excited
for this off-season.

I haven't had a break in like...
Since I was 15.

So, I haven't had longer than a week off
in six years.

How's it going? All good? Great.

Paddy, walk us through
what we're starting to plan

from the June window
towards the back end of '22?

The June window, we have Spain lined up.

One of the priority teams

that TG wanted to face
'cause they're good,

and they're a different style of play
that we need to wrap our heads around

coming into the World Cup.

However, if we selected our full team,

that would mean they don't get
an off-season for two years in a row,

heading into the World Cup next year.

So, we basically make 'em play
three years straight.

That's gonna cause issues
with loading, burnout,

and that's lunacy
in any high-performance environment.

We talked about goin' ahead with it,

but selectively leaving out

several of the key players
who were concerned about loading.

That'll be an issue for two reasons.

One, as an example,
Sam Kerr might not come,

and two, that likely then leads
to a pretty big loss against Spain.

We're talking about going to Spain,
playing the best team in the world,

- and not even using our best team.
Correct.

Well, I wouldn't even
say "possibly," JJ,

but, like, I would stand very strong

that there's four or five players
we just can't play in June.

If you force Sam to play
in June this year,

it might cost you Sam in June next year.

So, if she plays in the
June window, she's not gonna get a break.

We're making her play
three seasons straight

coming into the home World Cup.
That's just stupid.

Whereas deliberately choosing the window
to make sure we don't overload the girls,

and we have them fresh
coming into the World Cup.

Not trying to win a pointless friendly
in June '22.

Being back at home
I think brings me calm.

You're playing so many games
for your club and for your country.

We do get fatigued, and we get tired.
Definitely takes its toll on you.

The decision to not, say,
travel to Spain and Portugal

for these games
comes after long discussions with staff,

the coach, about what's best for us,
and I think leading into the World Cup,

it's probably gonna be the best thing
for us, and the team in the end.

You're on 100% of the time
as a professional athlete.

From morning to night,
it's what are you eating?

What are you drinking? Am I hydrated?
Have I had enough sleep?

So when you get a chance
to have a mental break,

something that we haven't had
for a long time, it's grounding.

At the top of the priority list
is the World Cup,

and making sure that
we're all prepared for that,

and in the best shape
when it comes to that time.

Three, two, one. Push.

Strong, strong. Come on.

Good.

Mate, the bar's bending.

That's how much power
is goin' through you.

- All right. You're gonna go too far.

Previously, they would go from season
to season with no rest period.

Play their international matches as well.

Their bodies are having some issues,
breaking down,

having to go into maintenance.

- Keep that breath going?
- Yeah. Breathing.

Good.

But now, with greater recovery,
we're seeing better-prepared athletes.

Good.

Excellent. Really good. Start it again.

We're ticking those things off.
Make sure you're moving well first.

I haven't done any running.

Yeah. That's a good sign, right?

So we're coming back in, first session,
get ourselves moving.

Yeah.

We're already ahead of ourselves.
Not having to fix too much.

Yeah.

I think this is a perfect time for,
you know, a handful of us

who haven't had a break in a long time
to get that time to refresh, reset,

and then, you know, come back
more determined to be at our best

for the most important moment,
which is the World Cup for 2023.

Wow!

Flying, hey?

And here, I thought
I'd have to rebuild you totally.

Have a little faith.

Ladies and gentlemen,
please welcome the finalists

of the UEFA Women's Champions League 2022.

Barcelona and Lyon!

The atmosphere
inside this stadium

is electric, and some of the players

that we will be seeing tonight,
it is gonna be a special night for them.

I'm, like, so excited.

Champions League Final, it's the biggest
game of the year, your career.

All those months of work, our dreams.

It's Lyon
who get us underway in the 2022

Women's Champions League Final.

Carpenter. She just seemed to buckle
as she started to run.

Well, she's hurt herself there.

Every time I play,
I put everything out there.

I am quite tough.
Like, I don't just come off.

Carpenter is back up
on her feet. Seems to be okay.

Something's happened
seriously, I think, to her knee.

You can see there just...
She's in some pain.

First thing I thought of
was the World Cup.

And then I, like, counted the months.

Why now? You know?

I think Ellie's probably one
of the only players on the team

that's irreplaceable.

Going into a World Cup,

it's the biggest blow to the team
that we could've taken.