Matildas star reveals the strange habit that got out of control at the World Cup as team get ready to go for gold at the Paris Olympics
- Matildas changed the face of Australian football at the World Cup
- Semi-finals on home soil, hearts of the country won
- Kyra Cooney-Cross aims to avoid mistakes at Paris Olympics
Matildas star Kyra Cooney-Cross has vowed to keep things simple at the Paris Olympics, a far cry from what happened on home soil last year at the Women’s World Cup, when the team succumbed to a bad habit.
The midfielder – who is only 22 – admitted Tony Gustavsson’s squad were ‘so superstitious’ that they reached the semi-finals for the first time.
“We all wore the same underwear and the same bra, otherwise we all had to get our nails done,” Cooney-Cross said News Corp.
‘If we were to change something, we would say that was the reason we lost the game or that we didn’t do so well.
‘I didn’t get my nails done against Nigeria and we lost. So then I had to get my nails done before every game.’
But for the Games in Paris, the Arsenal youngster will have just one set pre-match ritual: showering before boarding the team bus.
Cooney-Cross believes this makes her feel ‘fresh’ before she puts on her boots.
She is also looking forward to playing in the park with Katrina Gorry, who missed the Tokyo Olympics because she was pregnant with her daughter Harper.
Matildas star Kyra Cooney-Cross has vowed not to be superstitious at the Paris Olympics – unlike what happened on home soil at last year’s Women’s World Cup
Mary Fowler will be a key figure at the Paris Games, especially with superstar striker Sam Kerr out injured
If she can prove her fitness, Steph Catley will captain the Matildas in Kerr’s absence
‘Mini [Gorry] took me under her wing [when she resumed playing] “And she’s just so good,” Cooney-Cross said.
“She’s a mother now and she brings that to camp. She’s brought out the best in me and she’s doing the same with Charli (Grant).
“I look up to her so much and am really looking forward to playing with her again.”
After finishing fourth in Tokyo and at the World Championships, the Matildas are desperate for a medal.
They play their first Group B match in Marseille against Germany on 26 July (AEST), before playing Zambia in Nice (29 July) and the USA in Marseille (1 August).
