Matildas players are caught between a rock and a hard place in wanting to put on a show for Australian fans while grappling with the “quite dangerous” implications of an increasingly overloaded calendar, star fullback Ellie Carpenter said.
The clash with China was her 39th outing for club or country in a season which began less than a month after the Matildas’ third-place play-off against Sweden at last year’s World Cup.Carpenter said players were desperate for some time off, which they will get next week after Gustavsson names his Paris 2024 squad, with the team’s Olympics pre-camp not due to begin until the first week of July.
Ellie Carpenter poses for a selfie with fans at Adelaide Oval after the Matildas’ 1-1 draw with China.The commercial boom in women’s football is leading to greater demand for exhibition matches involving both clubs and national teams, with the two China matches netting Football Australia at least $4 million in ticket sales revenue, while also serving a dual purpose in helping Gustavsson finalise his Olympic plans.
“We travel so much during the season ... it catches up with you eventually,” Carpenter said. “Our mind knows that our season is over, so our body kind of automatically relaxes, I think, in some way, subconsciously. So I think that’s also hard, then to come and play these last two games at the back end of the season.“When we come out, we want to play our best football, you want to give 100 per cent - and I know every single one of us, we want to give 100 per cent.
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