Ellie Carpenter

Ellie Carpenter didn’t realise it at the time, but tearing her anterior cruciate ligament playing for Olympique Lyonnais in the 2022 Champions League final, just 12 months out from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, was the best thing that could have happened to her.

News of the knee injury, which meant a player as vital to the Matildas in both defence and attack as Ellie might not be available for the tournament on home soil, was greeted with shock by fans.

Ellie was also initially devastated, but quickly focussed on getting fit again.

“Getting injured was a blessing in disguise,” she said. “The World Cup was in July, so I knew I had over a year to recover. I felt confident in myself to be able to come back, but you just never know, anything can happen, so I wanted to get surgery straightaway.”

Ellie went in for surgery just two days after the injury, wanting to give herself the best possible chance to recover in time for the biggest tournament of her career.

“After my surgery, I just went really hard into rehab,” she said. “I don't think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life. I wanted to get back as quickly as I could and tick off all the boxes.

“Mentally, I knew I could play at the highest level, and I had a lot of amazing support around me. I just wanted to stay at Lyon and build up to 90 minutes as quickly as possible.

“I think this injury is the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I needed this time and this break. A forced break, not one that I would’ve wanted.

“I've learned so much about myself and my body and I’ve also learned how to say no to people when I need to rest or if I'm sore. I probably didn't do that when I was younger.

Ellie, who grew up in the NSW country town of Cowra, made her first appearance for the Matildas at age 15 in a 9-0 win over Vietnam in an Olympic qualifying match.

She was subsequently named to the Matildas Rio 2016 Olympic squad where she was not only the youngest Australian Olympian at Rio, but also the youngest women's footballer ever to compete at the Olympics.

They made it to an intense quarter-final penalty shootout against Brazil, where Ellie and the Matildas were unfortunately knocked out of the competition.

Ellie was selected the following year for the Matildas tournament of nations side. Getting redemption with a 6-1 win over Brazil, the Australians won the competition.

While she was still a teenager, Ellie played at the 2019 World Cup in France. They finished second in their group, advancing to meet Norway in the round of 16 where they were ultimately eliminated in another penalty shootout.

Domestically, Ellie won both the W-League Premiership and Championship with Melbourne City.

She has also taken out the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League title three times with French heavyweights Olympique Lyonnais (2020, 2022, 2024), the only Australian to have achieved it more than once.

At Tokyo 2020, Ellie and the Matildas made all of Australia proud in putting together a historic achievement.

Their fourth-place finish, which was nearly a podium finish after a 4-3 loss to the USA in the bronze medal game, is the highest ever finish by the Matildas at an Olympic Games.

After several months out with her 2022 ACL injury, Ellie returned to action with Olympique Lyonnais in March 2023, in time to stake her claim for a place in the World Cup squad.

Her energy in defence and her thrilling attacking forays down the right wing were a feature of the Matildas’ run to the semi-finals of the tournament, which captured the imagination of Australians. And she was among the Matildas who slotting home a penalty in the remarkable shootout win over France in the quarter-finals.

Ellie was also in the side when the Matildas qualified for the Paris Olympics with home and away wins over Uzbekistan in February 2024.

"Being an Olympian is such a great achievement,” she said. “It's everyone's dream to go to another Olympics."

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Ellie and the Matildas faced Germany, Zambia and the USA in a tough Group B.

A tournament-opening 3-0 loss to Germany was followed by a dramatic 11-goal thriller against Zambia, where the Matildas came back from 5-2 down to win 6-5. Facing a must-win scenario against the USA to stay alive, the Matildas' tournament ended on another 3-0 loss.