Katrina Gorry’s partner sends Matildas star a heartfelt message after couple suffered the loss of a loved one just before World Cup victory over France
Katrina Gorry’s partner has sent a touching message to the Matildas midfielder after the pair suffered the tragic loss of a loved one in the days before Australia’s thrilling World Cup quarter-final against France.
Gorry, who turned 31 on Sunday, kissed a message taped to her wrist and pointed to the sky after scoring Australia’s sixth penalty attempt on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.
After the match, she tearfully revealed that during the week she had dealt with a personal tragedy with the passing of her partner’s father, Swedish footballer Clara Markstedt.
Markstedt had returned home during the week, and the Matildas all wore black bracelets because of the situation – and Gorry had also written a tribute on the tape of her left wrist.
“My fiancée’s father passed away a few nights ago. It’s been a tough 48 hours for me, but it’s been a nice night for me to be with them,” she said.
Katrina Gorry kissed her left wrist – where she’d written a tribute to her fiancé’s father – and pointed to the sky after scoring Australia’s sixth penalty try
“My head has been all over the place tonight, but I know I have full support, not only here, but also the family in Sweden. Tonight I just wanted to make him proud.’
On Sunday, as birthday wishes started pouring in for the Matildas star, Clara posted her own personal message on social media.
“Happy birthday my love,” she posted on Instagram, alongside several photos of the couple with their daughter Harper.
“I couldn’t have wished for a better partner to go through life with. You are truly my rock in everything. I always love you.’
Gorry’s midfield teammate, Kyrya Cooney-Cross, quickly responded to the post, saying, “Cutie patooties.”
Matildas defender Charlotte Grant also responded to the post with a love emoji.
Grant also posted another message on her own Instagram story wishing Gorry a happy return.
“Congratulations on my second mother,” she posted with a collage of photos.
Gorry (pictured with Clara Markstedt) said victory against France was bittersweet but she definitely wouldn’t play
Gorry says soccer is her “happy place” where she can leave everything else behind
The Matildas star and Markstedt pictured with daughter Harper
“You are such an inspiration to everyone around you on and off the field. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for you. Love you.’
Gorry described playing against France as bittersweet, but ruled out any idea she might have pulled out because of the tragedy.
“Football is my happy place, everything just goes away when you get on the pitch,” she said.
“When you have the girls supporting you every step of the way, you have so much confidence that we will just keep going.
“It was tough, but every moment we looked our teammates in the eye, we had the conviction that when it came down to it, we could go to the end – to penalties – and win.
“It took much longer than we expected. We put on a show. I’m glad the Brissy crowd has gotten behind us. We really needed them.
“We had the belief in ourselves that we could get through the pens and I think you could see that. We stood together as a group. We never let go of each other.’