2023-08-18 19:00:17
In the stands of Stadium Australia in Sydney, during the semi-final between the Matildas and the English Three Lionesses, August 16, 2023. ASANKA BRENDON RATNAYAKE / REUTERS
It is almost 10 p.m. in Sydney (Australia), Wednesday August 16, when Sam Kerr’s volley grazes the skylight of Mary Earps, the English goalkeeper. Five minutes remain before the end of the semi-final of the Football World Cup between the Australians and the Three Lionesses when the hearts of many of the 75,000 fans at Stadium Australia and those of the millions of locals massed in front of their screens TV screens leap out of their ribcages. The Matildas will fail to qualify for the first world final in their history, losing 3-1 by the reigning European champions. But, Saturday, August 19, they will try to console themselves by winning third place against Sweden (kick-off at 10 a.m., Paris time).
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The Australian women’s team can already boast of having won a great victory: that of having seen the attention and enthusiasm of their compatriots grow relentlessly since the start of the competition, on July 20, co-organized with New Zealand. That day, for the opening match against Ireland, the private channel Seven, broadcaster of the event in the country, had recorded an average of 1.94 million viewers. They were 7.13 million on average, peaking at 11.5 millionfor the half against the English.
The Matildas, who had never previously reached the last four of a World Cup, set a new record: the meeting became the most watched television program since the introduction of the current audience measurement system, in 2001. Only the coronation of the 400 meter runner and rival of Marie-José Pérec, Cathy Freeman, during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, did better. What dizzying height would these figures have reached if the teammates of Sam Kerr, the star striker of Chelsea, had validated their ticket for the final on Sunday August 20?
“Exceptionally satisfied with this World Cup”
Crowds in the stadiums are not left out. The Australian team filled Sydney’s Stadium Australia four times: 75,784 spectators, or 303,136 in total. Same observation at Brisbane Stadium, whose stands were filled with some 100,000 fans between the defeat against Nigeria in the group stage (49,156) and the epic qualification at the expense of France, in the quarter-finals (49,461). Ecstatic after the victorious penalty shootout, Mary and Allyssa, two young students from the capital of Queensland, dressed in the yellow jersey of the selection, proclaimed their budding love for the Matildas: “Before this World Cup, we didn’t know much about football. We love this team and we are proud of it. »
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