The most obvious theme of the Matildas‘ clash with Wales on Saturday, one that saw Australia take out a 2-1 win thanks to Caitlin Foord‘s 85th-minute strike, was that of reconnection.
725 days after she last pulled on the green-and-gold, Sam Kerr was back in action for Australia’s women, starting up top alongside familiar collaborators Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso. And while the striker’s inability to get even the most glancing of touches on Courtney Nevin‘s 28th-minute opener denied the headline writers their chance to celebrate her international return with a goal on debut — the fullback instead getting her first international goal with the free kick — the 65 minutes of football Kerr logged represented an important milestone in the journey to, what Australia hopes, will be a fit and firing talisman leading the line at next year’s home Women’s Asian Cup.
But just as one pivotal figure in the growth of women’s football Down Under was reintroducing herself on the international stage, another was making her farewell. Jess Fishlock played for the 166th and final time in a Welsh shirt, following last week’s announcement that the clash with the Matildas would be the final one in a 19-year Cymru career. It added an extra level of reverence to Saturday’s contest, something that even the most oblivious of observers would have been able to pick up when Fishlock led the stadium in one of the most stirring renditions of “Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau” you’re ever likely to hear.
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A couple of hours later, as the fourth official’s board went up and signalled Fishlock’s 92nd-minute withdrawal for youngster Tianna Teisar, it was time for the crowd to rise again, not to be led in song by their living legend but to serenade her with cheers on the pitch for one final time. As the 38-year-old made her way off the pitch, waving to stands that had risen to their feet to bid her farewell, she was first embraced by Matildas coach Joe Montemurro, who had coached her at both Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in the A-League Women, and then by Welsh boss Rhian Wilkinson, with both dugouts behind them also rising to their feet. A deserved mark of respect for a player who left a lasting mark on Australian football and an irreplaceable one on the Welsh game.
“I love being Welsh,” Fishlock would tell the crowd post-game and go on to add, “I don’t want to be sad about it because I’ve had the best time ever.”
It should probably be noted that Fishlock’s departure from the international stage doesn’t represent a total farewell, of course; the veteran will return to the Seattle Reign for the NWSL playoffs following the international window and told the BBC earlier this week that she hopes to play for another season in 2026. But a year on from the international retirements of Clare Polkinghorne and Lydia Williams, and with Australia preparing to mark another landmark in the growth of the women’s game through its hosting of next year’s Asian Cup, Fishlock’s departure from the international game, and the inextricable march towards the point where she will hang up the boots completely, feels like yet another marker of the looming end of a golden era.
Across stints with both Victory and City, Fishlock became a four-time champion of the W-League (now the A-League Women) during her time in Australia, as well as a two-time premier. Taking the reins of City as a player-coach following Montemurro’s shift across to City’s men’s teams — a role he would only briefly hold before departing to take over at Arsenal — Fishlock joined a select group of women to coach a side to a championship when City lifted the 2016-17 title, the second of three straight she would win in Bundoora.
Few players who have ever graced the Dub have demonstrated the ability to take over games quite like Fishlock did at City, with there existing some fixtures in which it simply looked like she’d simply decided that she wasn’t going to lose this game and then manifested a more favourable result through sheer skill and willpower. Her best-on-ground performance in the 2018 W-League Grand Final exemplified this, helping to drive her side to a three-peat in hot and steamy conditions in Sydney, lobbing Aubrey Bledsoe from range to open the scoring before sending in the free kick that bounced off the crossbar and into the path of Jodie Taylor to seal it with 15 minutes to go.
Indeed, given the role that those early City teams played in forcing the rest of the competition to raise their standards, and the role that Fishlock played in helping to drive success in the City dressing room, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that the Welsh legend’s time in Australia is still, no matter how faintly, being felt today. And that’s to say nothing of the benefits gleaned by the bevy of Matildas that shared a dressing room with Fishlock, be it at Victory or City.
“Jess is an idol, an amazing footballer, an intelligent person, and I could go on,” Montemurro said ahead of Saturday’s game.
“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jess as a person, and she really helped me through a journey with Melbourne City when we were building a team from scratch. Her intelligence and ability to understand people and the game are amazing.
“I don’t need to sit here and give you all these explanations about her, because every accolade she gets tomorrow, she deserves, and many more. I hope she still contributes to the game, because I think there are very few big role models in world football who have done so much. I hope Jess stays in the game for a long time.”
Of course, that Fishlock can be so closely tied to so many of the current Matildas’ setup — be it as a teammate or adversary — and is now stepping away from the international game also carries with it a perhaps not all too pleasant connotation for green-and-gold devotees. It’s another reminder that, unless your name is Melissa Barbieri, age comes for us all, and that, while few would argue that Fishlock has done anything but go out on her own terms, like Williams and Polkinghorne before her, goodbyes are always hard.
And whereas Fishlock was finally able to experience a major tournament at this year’s Euros before she stepped away from the international game, the lowered expectations associated with Wales’ first entrance helping to soothe the sting of their three losses; there’s something of a contrast with the Matildas, here.
Because for many of the veterans in the group, some of whom will push to be a part of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and some of whom will not, next year’s Asian Cup as not only the last chance to play a major tournament on home soil but — for those not part of the 2010 triumph — to finally break through that barrier and seal their Golden Generation tag with silverware.
The hope will be the reconnection with Kerr, who was there back in China in 2010 at just 16 years old, can play a part in that. And while Fishlock’s international journey is now at an end, another one is just beginning for the Matildas.
