Matildas star Carpenter relishing return to the big stage
EXCLUSIVE: Eleven weeks out from Australia’s FIFA Women’s World Cup opener against Ireland, cosmic forces appear to be aligning for Tony Gustavsson’s torchbearers.
Puncturing England’s 30-match unbeaten run in London earlier this month, combined with the much-anticipated return from injury of wing-back Ellie Carpenter, have ignited stratospheric projections.
Carpenter, who turns 23 on Friday, has long been the embodiment of all that makes the Matildas so beloved of Australian sporting folk: gliding forward with bold intent, fearless in her defending and Trent Alexander Arnold-like in the accuracy of her deliveries into dangerous areas.
Her 11-month absence from the national team - the result of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament playing for her French club Olympique Lyonnais in last May’s UEFA Women’s Champions League final - left a gaping chasm, now thankfully filled again with July-August’s co-hosted showpiece just around the corner.
Too bashful to trumpet her own importance for either club or country, Carpenter’s on-field persona and performances speak eloquently for her.
Just nine games into her comeback, the prestige of a Coupe de France final also beckons on 13 May against eternal antagonist Paris Saint-Germain.
The term ‘build back better’ has proved a hollow slogan in the post-Covid pandemic era, yet in Carpenter’s case it rings true.
Intense rehab and reconditioning has her believing she’s physically even more imposing now than before the injury, as she presses fast-forward on her future.
Counter intuitively, 61-cap Carpenter - who made her Matildas debut at just 15 - views her long lay off as almost a blessing disguise - providing a platform to refresh, recharge and reframe her ambitions.
“It was pretty non-stop for a while there with all the travelling during FIFA windows, jet lag and so many games back-to-back,” she said. “It takes a toll on your body - there’s been no let up since I started professionally and I just needed a break really.
“It feels like I’ve been around a long time - and I think I’ve benefited from all the rehab.
“I actually feel really good and stronger and faster than before after nine months of work in the gym to build everything back up again.
“You have a chance to do more than you would if you were in season - and I also feel mentally refreshed.”
The reconfigured Carpenter’s swashbuckling attacking instincts remain undimmed.
“I get excited when I see space in front of me and I get the chance to go and join in the attack,” she said. “I love playing my position because you get the best of both worlds in defence and attack.”
While Carpenter’s importance to Australia can’t be overstated, she’s also a Lyonnais linchpin as the French giant chasea a league and cup double after being knocked out of the Champions League by a Chelsea side featuring Matildas teammate Sam Kerr.
“Our goal at the beginning of the season was the treble - and there are still two trophies we can win (Lyonnais are a point clear of PSG atop the Division 1 Feminine ladder with three games left),” Carpenter said.
“We play PSG in the final and then again a week later in the league - so that’s going to be quite decisive. We want both trophies - and if it happens it will be my first Coupe de France.
“There’s a huge rivalry there between us. They’re a great team but we hate each other, and it’s always an aggressive and physical game.”
Beating England couldn’t have come at a better time, Carpenter contends.
“We went through a bit of reshuffle in the team for that match (which finished 2-0) with a few injuries and having to bring a few young players in,” she said.
“I think what the result and performance showed was that after the seven or so years I’ve been in the team we finally have some real depth.
“That’s really good for us going into the World Cup because you need more than 11 players to win big tournaments.
“We may not be the best national team out there but we’ve shown we can beat world class opposition, so long as we work together tactically and give 100 per cent.
“We all stuck to our roles that night and knew if we kept to our game plan we’d be in with a big chance (of causing an upset).”
A string of recent wins has muted previously shrill voices questioning the competence of Gustavsson, with Carpenter explaining: “Tony is very smart. He was assistant with the US national team which won the 2019 World Cup and he knows what it takes to win.
“His brought that experience with him and I’ve learned a lot working with him - things I’d never have thought of before. Tactically he’s also very good and that’s why we did so well against England.
“Also him taking us to a bronze medal match at the Olympics is also unheard of in Australian football really.
“He has a great work ethic. Being a coach is hard these days: you lose one game and you’re the worst coach, you win one and you’re the best coach.
“He took a lot of criticism. But good for him, he stuck to his word and his methods and game plan and didn’t listen to outsiders. He also had a long term game plan knew what he was doing.
“Everybody had to trust his process and I guess he will be laughing now after the result against England. I’m sure a lot of media would also have been doing backflips and now praising him, saying he’s going to win the World Cup. It can be like that, from one extreme to the other.
“He’s done well for us over the last cycle and, like I said, he’s built that depth which no coach before him could.”
