Matildas’ star shows off shocking injury

The Matildas finished fourth at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup following a nailbiting 0-1 loss to the Scandinavians on Saturday.

The heated game saw Ms Foord collide with Swedish Captain Kosovare Asllani, before playing after halftime while wearing a headband.

In an Instagram post, Ms Ford revealed the reason behind the headband as she walked away from the game with a black eye.

“The shiner is coming along nicely,” Ms Ford wrote on Sunday. “Thanks for all the messages.”

The tongue-in-cheek post comes as the team celebrate their success at the World Cup while in Brisbane.

Ms Ford, who is from Shellharbour, and her teammates were presented a key to the City of Brisbane in a ceremony on Sunday.

The event also featured a performance by singer Nikki Webster, who was brought on stage to play the team’s favourite song: Strawberry Kisses.

In the footage, Ms Ford is seen signing and partying while wearing a pair of wide-brimmed black sunglasses, covering her injured eye.

While jovial, the reactions from the team following their back-to-back loses against England and Sweden were mixed.

A devastated Sam Kerr shared on Instagram following the team’s loss to England a photo of her knelt over with the caption: “We gave it all.”

Of the loss, she told 7News: “Really disappointed obviously. We just fell short but yeah really proud of the girls for this whole tournament.”

In later interviews, Ms Kerr reflected on the commitment of fans who she said had helped the team feel like winners after their loss.

For her part, Ms Ford wrote on Sunday that the team’s loss against Sweden was disappointing and that it “hurt a lot” to not have a medal.

“But what we have done is much bigger … We’ve united the whole country, inspired the next generation, made history,” she wrote.

“We have changed how football is viewed here in (Australia), but most importantly we made a lot of Australian’s proud.

“I couldn’t be prouder to be an Aussie & Matilda – thank you Australia.”

Matildas goalie Mackenzie Arnold described the team’s past month in the World Cup as an “emotional rollercoaster”.

“How it ended hurts, and it probably will for a while,” she said.

“But, some of the moments we created together are going to be remembered forever.

“I have so much love for this team and this country. Thank you for creating history with us Australia.”

Originally published as Matildas’ star left with black-eye after showdown with Sweden