Sam Kerr has delivered a heartfelt message to Australia in the wake of the Matildas World Cup heroics.
The Matildas hopes of claiming ultimate glory came to an end at the hands of England in the semi-finals after they went down 3-1.
Their tournament officially ended after losing 2-0 to Sweden during the third placed match a day before the World Cup Final.
Kerr reflected on the emotional journey and praised Australian fans for getting behind the team in record numbers.
“Thank you for the memories Australia,” Kerr wrote.
“You allowed us to live out our dream of representing our country on home soil.
“I hope we have inspired a nation for many years to come.”
Her message followed on from that of Lydia Williams who said leaving without a medal was a “bittersweet” feeling but thanked everyone for being behind them throughout.
“Bittersweet. As competitors and athletes you always want to walk away with something tangible,” Williams wrote.
“But in hindsight we will look and see that this has changed football forever in Australia.
“Thank you for allowing yourselves to get swept up in the game that us footballers so desperately love.
“Thank you for all the support and camaraderie.
“Thank you for believing in us.”
The Women’s World Cup attracted almost two millions fans to its 64 games, with an average attendance per game of 30,911.
The 2023 edition of the tournament, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, exceeded ticket sale expectations by almost 500,000, with the average crowd figure more than 9000 up on the 21,756 median at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.
For the first time, the tournament broke even, with more than $A888 million in revenue generated.
In their seven games, the Matildas attracted a total of 403,136 fans, with the average of 57,591 per match reaching 99.92 per cent of capacity at each venue.
FIFA fan festivals attracted 747.000, while the Matildas’ 3-1 semi-final loss to England was the most watched television program in Australia since 2001.
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