Kyra Cooney-Cross

Midfielder Krya Cooney-Cross’s manager at English club Arsenal, Jonas Eidevall, compares her to an American football quarterback.

“You can see she has a lot of really different qualities that are useful in her position,” Eidevall said. “To highlight two of them, the ability she has to make passes through the lines, but to also dribble through the lines.

“It is like in American football when you have a quarterback who can run and who can throw and that becomes very difficult for defences to stop such a player because if you drop off, they run, and if you stand still, they pass the ball through you and it’s very beneficial in her position to be able to do that.”

Kyra demonstrated this ability to dictate play in the centre of the park to the world during the Matildas’ run to the semi-finals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which captured the imagination of Australians. And it is expected to ensure she is a vital player for the Matildas for years to come.

Kyra, who grew up in Queensland, began her international career at the 2017 Under-16 Asian Cup qualifiers, where she scored six goals in the tournament.

It was not long after she first signed and played for Melbourne Victory in the 2017-18 W-League season.

One season on and Kyra helped the Victory become W-League premiers.

She made a switch to the Western Sydney Wanderers for the 2019-20 season, scoring on debut in a 2-1 win against Adelaide United.

After one year away from Melbourne she opted to reunite with the Victory for the 2020-21 season. Her debut for the Matildas followed in 2021 against Denmark.

Following a second championship with Victory in the 2021-22 season, Kyra secured her first overseas contract and signed with Swedish side Hammarby.

She became part of a historic moment for the club when they won the Swedish Cup against rivals BK Hacken for the first time in 28 years in front of a record crowd of more than 17,000.

At Tokyo 2020, Kyra 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.

When Kyra’s Swedish contract was up in 2023, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United, Juventus and Lyon were among the clubs chasing her signature. In the end, she elected to go to Arsenal, where she plays with Matildas teammates Caitlin Ford and Steph Catley.

At the World Cup, Kyra was one of Australia’s best performers, proving to be a powerful force in the middle of the park.

Despite being the second-youngest member of Tony Gustavsson's squad, she played all but four minutes of the Matildas' seven matches – an indication of her importance.

She was again vital as the Matildas qualified for the Paris Olympics with home and away victories over Uzbekistan in February 2024, intercepting passes and creating chances.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics Kyra 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.