WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Super Falcons’ World Cup opponents, Australia dare to dream
Nigeria’s Super Falcons will face co-hosts, Australia in their second match of their group match.
Riding momentum and the support of a sports-mad nation, co-hosts Australia head into the Women’s World Cup dreaming of a first global title after battling for years to be counted among the heavyweights of the game.
The Matildas have travelled a rocky road since being bundled out of the round of 16 at the 2019 World Cup in France.
There were calls for coach Tony Gustavsson’s head last year as they crashed out of the Asian Cup quarter-finals, and again when they slumped to a 7-0 defeat by Spain.
However, they have since turned a corner, winning eight of their last nine matches, including a 2-0 defeat of England in London that snapped the European champions’ unbeaten run of 30 games.
Swede Gustavsson said he hoped his players could remain humble after the England upset but that has not stopped fans’ expectations from soaring into the stratosphere.
Australian Rules football and rugby league have long been the country’s favourite winter sports but soccer is now having its moment.
Fans are still buoyant after the performance of the men’s team at the World Cup in Qatar where they reached the last 16 before bowing out to eventual champions Argentina.
Sharing hosting duties with New Zealand, Australians have snapped up the lion’s share of the 1 million tickets sold so far for the women’s tournament.
More than 40,000 fans will watch the Matildas warm up in Melbourne against France a week before it starts, a local record crowd for a women’s soccer match.
Players hope home support might help them hoist the World Cup trophy and leave a similar legacy for the women’s game that England now enjoys after the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph.
“If you do well at a major tournament that you’re hosting, the effects and the ripple of that can be huge,” said defender Steph Catley, who plays club football in England with Arsenal.
“It’s gone through the roof since (the Euros) and grass-roots is benefiting from that.”
Since reaching the quarter-finals at the 2007 World Cup, Australia have aspired to greatness but flattered to deceive.
Barring talismanic striker-captain Sam Kerr, world class players have not been in abundance.
An over-reliance on Kerr has hurt the team, and as hard as Gustavsson has worked to build depth he will be praying she can avoid injury.
No player is anywhere near as clinical as Kerr in Australia’s forward positions and the Matildas, ranked 10th in the world, can struggle to unlock tight defences without her.
Australia’s own defence and box-to-box play has come a long way since their bleak period a year ago.
Even with key players out injured the midfield has shown itself capable against the world’s best and adaptable under pressure.
Most questions about Gustavsson’s starting 11 have been put to bed and the Swede has unearthed quality players to come off the bench including Charli Grant and Alex Chidiac.
Australia should canter into the knockout phase from Group B which also includes Canada, Ireland and Nigeria.
From there, they will hope to ride confidence, crowd energy and a bit of Kerr magic to go beyond the quarters for the first time.
-Reuters
The Iranian women’s soccer team crossed the Turkish border into Iran on Wednesday to complete a fraught return journey from Australia, after five members withdrew asylum claims they had lodged there.
Australia had granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member after they sought asylum, saying they feared possible persecution if they returned to Iran.
Concerns over their safety surfaced when several players failed to sing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month after the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran. Iranian state television had labelled them “wartime traitors”.
The team, which flew into Istanbul on Tuesday, took a flight to Igdir in eastern Turkey on Wednesday morning.
The players emerged from Igdir Airport, pulling their luggage and chatted in front of the terminal before boarding a bus to the border. One of them briefly smiled and waved at a TV camera before the bus departed. After a trip of around two hours to the frontier, they went through passport control at the Gurbulak border gate before crossing over into Iran.
A bus carrying members of the Iranian women’s national soccer team arrives at the Gurbulak Border Gate, a crossing point between Turkey and Iran, as they travel to their home country after five players withdrew the asylum claims they had lodged in Australia over safety concerns about returning due to not singing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month, in the eastern Agri province, Turkey, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Ali Ihsan Ozturk
The team’s Asian Cup campaign began just as the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament more than a week ago.
Five of those who had sought asylum in Australia subsequently changed their minds and decided to return home, with Australian media reporting the latest withdrawal on Monday.
They rejoined the rest of the squad in Kuala Lumpur, where the team had been staying since leaving Sydney last week.
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) said last week that those who had changed their minds would travel home with the rest of the team “to once again be embraced by their families and homeland.”
Two players are still in Australia and have been pictured training with a local A-League club.
-Reuters
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The two players from the Iranian women’s soccer squad who chose to remain in Australia after seeking asylum have been pictured training with a local A-League club as they begin their new lives in the country.
Midfielder Fatemeh Pasandideh and defender Atefeh Ramezanizadeh were among seven members of Iran’s delegation granted humanitarian visas amid fears of possible persecution if they returned home after competing in the women’s Asian Cup in Australia.
Concerns over their safety emerged after the players failed to sing their national anthem before their opening match on the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland. Iranian state media labelled them as “wartime traitors”, with the team’s campaign beginning as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran.
Five members of the group, however, subsequently changed their minds about Australia’s asylum offer and decided to return home.
Queensland-based A-League club Brisbane Roar announced on social media the remaining two players, Pasandideh and Ramezanizadeh, had joined a training session with its women’s team on Monday.
“Brisbane Roar officially welcomed both Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh to the club’s training facilities…and remain committed to providing a supportive environment for them whilst they navigate the next stages,” CEO Kaz Patafta said.
Photos posted by the club showed the two players meeting the Brisbane Roar squad and taking part in shooting drills.
“Thank you for everything,” wrote Ramezanizadeh, 33, under the post on Instagram.
Pasandideh, 21, also posted on her Instagram story on Monday a photo with FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis in Brisbane with a caption saying “everything will be fine”.
While the pair began their new lives in Australia, their former teammates made their way home to Iran from Malaysia.
The team was seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday evening, checking in on an Oman Air flight, although their destination was unclear.
-Reuters
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Three Iranian women soccer players to return home after seeking asylum in Australia
Three members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who had sought asylum in Australia have decided to return to Iran, Australia’s government said on Sunday.
Australia granted humanitarian visas to seven Iranian footballers last week after they sought asylum, saying they feared persecution if they returned home after they failed to sing the national anthem at a Women’s Asian Cup match.
Four of the seven members have decided to leave Australia so far. Another member changed her mind last week.
“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
“While the Australian Government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions,” he added.
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) named the players as Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Sarbali and Zahra Meshkehkar.
“After arriving in Malaysia and joining the rest of Iran’s women’s national football team, the three players will travel to Tehran in the coming days to once again be embraced by their families and homeland,” FFIRI added in a statement.
The Iranian team’s campaign in the Asian Cup started just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament last Sunday.
-Reuters
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