There is nothing quite like the pressure of a penalty shootout in the knockout phase of the World Cup. The Matildas know that all too well. Four years ago, on a warm summer’s evening not far from the French Mediterranean coastline, Australia’s encounter with Norway had finished level after 120 minutes.
It was almost midnight, and the humid air inside the Stade de Nice was laden with tension. The Norwegians won the coin toss to shoot first. The team’s No 10, Caroline Graham Hansen, stepped up to the mark, facing down Matildas veteran Lydia Williams. Graham Hansen held the ball for what felt like an eternity, while Williams moved slowly from side to side, just 11 metres of grass behind them.
