Football: Sam Kerr spearheads experienced Australia squad for home World Cup

SYDNEY, Australia -- Star striker Sam Kerr spearheaded Australia's most experienced ever women's World Cup squad named Monday, with veterans Lydia Williams and Clare Polkinghorne set to play at their fifth tournament.

Fresh from guiding Chelsea to a fourth consecutive Women's Super League title, Kerr, who has scored 63 goals in 120 Australian appearances, will don the captain's armband as they look to go beyond the quarter-finals for the first time.

The Arsenal pair of defender Steph Catley and forward Caitlin Foord were also named among nine players who have been capped more than 100 times.

Centurions Williams and Polkinghorne -- stalwarts since their making their debuts 17 years ago -- will become the first Australian players, male or female, to appear at five World Cups.

Four players -- Kerr, Foord, Emily van Egmond and Tameka Yallop - will be at their fourth tournament.

"These 23 players not only exemplify what it means to be a part of the tradition of the Matildas, but also what it means to represent the 25 million Australians we know are fully behind us," said coach Tony Gustavsson.

"They have the heart, desire and the passion for the crest, and I can't wait to see the next part of their story."

Fifteen of the squad were part of the 2019 campaign when Australia were knocked out on the round of 16, while seven are in line to make their tournament debuts.

The Matildas face France in a final warm-up game on July 14 at a sold-out Marvel Stadium in Melbourne before meeting Ireland to kick off the tournament they co-host with New Zealand on July 20 in Sydney.

Eleven-time African champions Nigeria and reigning Olympic gold medallists Canada are also in Group B.

Australia squad:

Goalkeepers: Lydia Williams (Brighton/ENG), Teagan Micah (FC Rosengard/SWE), Mackenzie Arnold (West Ham United/ENG)

Defenders: Clare Polkinghorne (Vittsjo GIK/SWE), Steph Catley (Arsenal/ENG), Alanna Kennedy (Manchester City/ENG), Ellie Carpenter (Olympique Lyon/FRA), Charlotte Grant (Vittsjo GIK/SWE), Clare Hunt (Western Sydney Wanderers), Courtney Nevin (Leicester City/ENG), Aivi Luik (BK Hacken/SWE)

Midfielders: Emily van Egmond (San Diego Wave/USA), Tameka Yallop (SK Brann/NOR), Katrina Gorry (Vittsjo GIK/SWE), Alex Chidiac (Racing Louisville/USA), Kyra Cooney-Cross (Hammarby/SWE), Clare Wheeler (Everton/ENG)

Forwards: Mary Fowler (Manchester City/ENG), Sam Kerr (Chelsea/ENG), Hayley Raso (unattached), Caitlin Foord (Arsenal/ENG), Kyah Simon (unattached), Cortnee Vine (Sydney FC)

Agence France-Presse

World Cup chance to 'blow lid off' business of women's sports: Rapinoe

LOS ANGELES -- US veteran Megan Rapinoe said the upcoming Women's World Cup feels like a "paradigm shift" in the global business of women's sports even as inequities persist.

The fight for equal pay by Rapinoe and her US teammates was a backdrop to their 2019 World Cup triumph in France, eventually resulting in a collective bargaining agreement with US Soccer that included equal prize money between the men's and women's national teams and more equal benefits in areas including accommodation and travel.

FIFA has guaranteed that ever player at next month's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will earn at least $30,000, with the winners taking home $270,000.

At a US media day on Tuesday, Rapinoe said there was still work to be done to ensure the world's best women footballers are properly compensated, but there's no doubt that the Women's World Cup has arrived as one of the top sporting events in the world.

"I think, just in general, women's sports right now feels like we're sort of out of just the dogged fight phase," Rapinoe, who played on World Cup-winning teams in 2015 and 2019, said as the team gathered in California to begin final preparations for the tournament.

"It feels like a real opportunity to blow the lid off just in terms of fanfare and media and sponsorships and the sort of larger business around this sport.

"I think everyone is sort of hip to the game now and understands that this is not somewhere that's just like, 'Oh, we should cheer for the Women's World Cup because that's the right thing to do.'

"It is actually terrible business if you are not tuning in -- you are missing out on a large cultural moment ... this is the premier women's sporting event in the world bar none and this is a paradigm shift globally, not just in the US."

- It's infuriating -

Rapinoe acknowledged that progress didn't mean there wasn't "still work to be done."

Canada's women remain locked in a labor dispute with their federation, with captain Christine Sinclair saying last week she expected at least a temporary solution to be reached before the World Cup squad departed.

Jamaica's World Cup side, meanwhile, has resorted to fund-raising campaigns as they prepared for the tournament because of a lack of resources from the federation.

"It's infuriating," Rapinoe said. "It just like doesn't have to be like this. But I do think it's getting better ... I think that there's a lot more resources that these teams can tap into."

The difference, she said, will be seen on the pitch in Australia and New Zealand.

"You're going to see the best product on the field and that's because players are going to be able to be put in a position to just focus on the game and go out there and provide the entertainment everybody wants."

Rapinoe, the 2019 Ballon d'Or winner who helped the United States claim a fourth World Cup crown in 2019, is one of three players in the squad playing in a fourth World Cup.

They're joined by a wealth of young talent that includes 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson, 21-year-old Trinity Rodman and 22-year-old Sophia Smith, the 2022 National Women's Soccer League Most Valuable Player.

The Americans kick off their World Cup campaign against Vietnam in Auckland on July 22.

Agence France-Presse