They again came in their thousands, State of Origin players included, to worship at the altar of the Matildas. And the 76,798 crowd massed inside Sydney’s Olympic Stadium were treated to a much-improved performance and a victory as the Matildas returned to winning ways against China and Tony Gustavsson got a final chance to settle his thoughts on his squad to take to the Olympic Games.
The match doubled as a farewell to the retiring Lydia Williams, who played what could be the final 45 minutes of an international football career that has spanned nearly 19 years before she departed to a rapturous ovation in spine-tingling scenes, the likes of which this stadium is no stranger to. Whether the 36-year-old extends it further depends on Gustavsson’s inclination to include her on his list of 18 players for the Paris Games.
