A rising soccer star from the Sunshine Coast has reflected on her big-money move to a glamour club and her journey with the Matildas.
Kyra Cooney-Cross, who played at Coolum and Bli Bli as a junior, has enjoyed a meteoric rise during the past two years.
The 22-year-old emerged as a key player for Australia at the World Cup on home soil last year, before she signed with Arsenal in the England’s Women’s Super League.
The lucrative move has meant dealing with the at-times “really tough” reality of having limited opportunities off the bench.
“I went to Arsenal because I wanted a challenge,” she said.
“I felt like for so many years I’ve had it easy for so long.
“And I thought ‘You know what? I want to challenge myself and make the next big step.’
“That’s what Arsenal provides me.
“I just need to stay patient and hopefully my time comes.
“They did plan for me for the future, so hopefully that’s not too much longer.”
The midfielder looms as a key player for Australia’s key Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Saturday and in Melbourne four days later.
Playing with, and being supported by, “world-class” players in England has the quiet achiever determined to become more vocal on and off the pitch.
“Coming from Arsenal to the Matildas I want to try and bring the same intensity,” she said.
“You don’t want to drop the level.
“I want to try and be more of a leader because there’s some new players coming in, some young players coming in, so I need to start stepping up soon.”
That time might not be too far away.
Midfield partner Katrina Gorry has flagged that Paris 2024 could mark the end of her international career.
When the brilliant dynamo calls time, the midfield could be Cooney-Cross’ to run for the next decade.
“That does scare me a little bit because she has helped me so much in this team, so I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without her,” she said.
“But it’s also something I’m going to have to deal with when the time comes.”
It’s these realisations that make Cooney-Cross determined to deliver silverware after fourth-placed finishes at the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s home World Cup
“Seeing a lot of the girls after the World Cup and how devastated they were to be coming fourth again, it made me pretty upset,” she said.
“That just makes me want to go help them win a gold medal before they all retire.
“So at the Olympics we’re gonna give it a good crack and hopefully come first.”
But first there’s the games against Uzbekistan and Cooney-Cross is ready to be the key that can spring open their defence.
Uzbekistan appear poised to sit deep and frustrate an Australia attack missing injured superstar captain Sam Kerr.
But figuring out that puzzle is a challenge that Cooney-Cross is desperate to solve.
“I actually love playing against a low block,” she said.
“Jonas (Eidevall) at Arsenal has been bringing me on quite often against the low block because I quite enjoy it and like playing in between lines with my passes and doing long balls, or like having to try and combine.
“It’s definitely a game that I like to play, especially when you are able to squeeze a pass through a tight space, that is quite satisfying.
“We’ve all been prepared for it. There’s gonna be a lot of time-wasting, low blocks, so it is going to be difficult to break them down.
“Yeah, it could take us a while to get a goal, but at the end of the day we just need to stick to the way we play.”
