Katrina Gorry

Although she is part of a vital combination with Kyra Cooney-Cross at the heart of the Matildas’ midfield, Katrina is perhaps best known as the mother of Harper.

As the Matildas won the hearts of Australians as they surged to the semi-finals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, two-year-old Harper was always there – cheering her mum from the sidelines, stealing the show at press conferences.

And when a video of Harper announcing the Matildas squad for home and away Olympic qualifiers against Uzbekistan in February 2024 went viral, she was almost as well-known as her mum.

Harper has become Katrina’s secret weapon, reigniting her love of football and propelling her back into the Matildas in time for a spectacular performance at the World Cup.

"I play for her now," Katrina said, who battled an eating disorder and waning enthusiasm for the game in the years before undergoing IVF treatment in 2020.

"For a long time, I was like, 'You know what, I'm done with this'," Katrina told the ABC’s Australian Story. "Then when I had her, it was almost like I was a kid again. She definitely reignited that dream."

Nine weeks after Harper's birth in 2021, Katrina threw herself into training and three months later she was back playing for her hometown team, the Brisbane Roar.

When Harper was six-month-old, Katrina flew off to Sweden to begin playing with Vittsjö GKI in the country's top league.

Born in Brisbane, Katrina played soccer, mostly with boys teams, from an early age and at 14 was selected for the Queensland Academy of Sport.

Stints with Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United and Canada's Ottawa Fury followed and in 2012, as a 19-year-old, Katrina made her debut for Australia against the then world champions Japan.

At the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Katrina appeared in four of Australia's five matches. The Matildas finished second in their group and advanced to the knockout stage, where they beat Brazil in the round of 16 but lost to Japan in the quarter-finals.

At Katrina’s first Olympics in Rio, the Matildas made the quarter-finals where they again came up against Brazil and were knocked out in a penalty shootout. Katrina was among those who missed their penalty shots – and it hit her hard.

"I remember feeling just so defeated," she said. "It's a feeling that I hadn't really felt in football."

Shortly afterwards, Katrina was playing in Japan, feeling lonely and dealing with social media scrutiny, body image issues and an eating disorder.

However, she still made the squad for the 2019 World Cup, playing in two games as Australia went out in a penalty shootout loss to Norway in the round of 16.

With the Tokyo Olympics postponed because of COVID-19, Katrina decided it was time to take a break and have a baby.

With Harper's birth came the rebirth of Katrina. "Harper was that missing part of Katrina's life," her mum Linda told Australian Story. "Once Harper came into her life, it was this fulfilment that I've never seen."

When Katrina was recalled to the Matildas in 2022, Linda came along to provide childcare.

At the World Cup, Katrina had the highest number of tackles of any player – 59 – and covered the most ground of any player – 57.68km. She played her 100th match for Australia in the semi-final against England.

But her highlight of the tournament was the penalty-shootout win over France in the quarter-finals. After missing a penalty in Rio, the pressure on Katrina was immense as she stepped up to the spot. But she scored and all the angst of 2016 melted away.

At the end of 2023, Katrina made the move to English club West Ham, where she plays with Matildas teammate Mackenzie Arnold.

And early in 2024 she played a key role as Australia qualified for the Paris Olympics with home and away wins over Uzbekistan.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Katrina 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.