Matildas fans have been trickling in to AAMI Stadium since early this afternoon to secure their seat at the city’s second live site.
The aptly named Matilda Smith was among those counting down the minutes until the Australian team that’s captured the heart of the nation took the field.
Tara Smith, Frankie Gianelli, 12, Matilda Smith, 12, James Smith, William Smith, 8, visit AAMI Park to watch the Matildas v England.Credit: Alex Crowe
At AAMI Park with English-born mum, Tara Smith, there was some friction between family members watching the semi-final in the city.
“Oh, it’s a bit of a dilemma to figure out who it is I should go for but as you can tell, I’ve chosen my team,” said Smith.
She’d chosen correctly too. AAMI Park stadium has a capacity of 29,600 and is being used as a live site for the first time since the tournament kicked off.
So was the atmosphere at AAMI going to match Saturday night’s shootout win?
“It’s gonna be better!” said Matilda.
Frankie Gianelli wasn’t the least conflicted over which country she was backing from the AAMI Park stadium, the 12-year-old joining the crowd after seeing Australia take on Denmark in Sydney.
She said Ellie Carpenter was going to make sure the Matildas came out in top.
“She’s really good at defence,” she said.“We’re gonna be real good.”
