Thank you Matildas, your World Cup has brought football to life in Australia | Joey Peters | OneFootball

It’s still so fresh, so raw. I feel for the girls – they came so close to that World Cup final. They could probably taste it. They played so well and for Sam Kerr to get that goal – there was a feeling we were back in it. But there were just too many heartbreaking moments for us to get there in the end.

The match really showcased how good England are at the moment. I’m not normally one to boo an opponent, but in the crowd I was yelling at the top of my lungs – we had to try everything, as they did too with the physicality they showed. In other games everything went our way; Wednesday night just wasn’t our night. Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be.

But it was still a performance the whole nation can take pride in. To come back into the game through Kerr’s goal – it gave us hope. England’s first goal rattled everyone, the crowd went quiet. But for a moment at least Kerr gave us hope. The Matildas Active crew deserve a huge call-out – they didn’t stop beating the drum all night.

The English were just that next level of class. That’s what we have to aspire to – the individual class of someone like Georgia Stanway, who was immense all evening. Of course Katrina “Mini” Gorry was playing the game of her life, but you felt that there’s still space for the Matildas to grow. There’s more to come, with the excitement of the next generation.

For me, the most special moment came after the match. Trying to leave the car park, while we were sitting still in the traffic, I saw a young girl kicking a ball with her dad. She would have been less than 10 years old, wearing a Kerr kit, the Hayley Raso ribbon in her hair. All that was missing was the Mary Fowler gloves.

That epitomised the moment for me. It has given us such excitement for the future. Now we can dare to dream, whereas before I could never have imagined this. The next generation is grabbing hold of that dream. This is our future now. Australians as a football-loving nation. Little girls falling in love with the game and becoming strong, inspiring women. That was my highlight of the night, having felt so heartbroken, so angry at the Poms. England were deserving winners, but leaving the car park, seeing that girl, I felt pride and hope.

The past month has been a rollercoaster of emotions – four weeks on the back of 45 years. We’ve come so far, even just in the past few days since the quarter-final. Every radio station you turn on, every TV, every newspaper, every social platform – the Matildas are everywhere.

I don’t want it to end, but it won’t end, either. An experience like this isn’t forgotten. We never forgot Cathy Freeman’s race, and we will never forget these brave Matildas. You’ll be able to say “Up the Tillies” and everyone will remember this tournament, how proud they have made us, an Australian-best performance at a home World Cup.

The struggles of the past make it all the sweeter. After the heartbreak, as the dust settles, I’m left with this overwhelming sense of pride and satisfaction at what just happened.

England can provide us with inspiration. They have been to the semi-finals before and you can tell they wanted that next step. I would be surprised if they lose the final on Sunday. The Matildas will now feel the same – they’ve tasted it and they will want more.

And we still have this chance, the third-place playoff, to end on a high note. They will not want to pass that up. The fact that they’ve been there before, at the Olympics in Tokyo, will help. They’ll be even hungrier.

Hopefully some of the younger players get a run on Saturday. To me that has been a sore point at this tournament – we created all this depth, but we were one of the teams to use substitutes the least. Those players deserve the opportunity to get on the grass.

This World Cup has brought football to life in Australia. It can be a strength for the entire nation. We can’t go on the same – surely things will never be the same again. This tournament has brought us inspiration. Not only the Matildas, but every person who has stepped foot on the field has inspired us to do better. I’ve loved every minute.