The Matildas have a motto: ‘til it’s done. Earlier this week, several die-hard fans took that literally – going to extreme lengths to catch Australia’s clash with the United States. Cancelled trains, a last-minute hire car and an eight-hour dash across France – the fans’ journey was as chaotic as the Matildas’ Olympic campaign. It ended in the same way, too: disappointment.
On Wednesday morning, Gare de Lyon in Paris was throbbing with yellow-clad Matildas fans and Australian journalists when a grave voice came over the speaker system. Bad weather had left a tree on a train line, which had in turn caused issues with electrical systems. Not a single main line train would leave the station for hours, with most of the hourly or so trains to Marseille – a three-and-a-half-hour journey – cancelled.
