Matildas’ Sam Kerr kisses her soccer friend Kristie Mewis after Australia’s World Cup quarter-final win over France
- The Matildas won the quarterfinals on Saturday
- Sam Kerr celebrated the win with her friend
- Footballers have been together for over two years
Matildas star Sam Kerr was photographed celebrating Australia’s incredible win over France with soccer friend Kristie Mewis.
Kerr, 29, hugged Mewis, who plays for the USA women’s team, after the Matildas’ quarter-final win at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
The soccer power couple kissed and hugged as millions of Australians celebrated the happy ending to the thrilling semi-final.
Mewis also supported her friend of more than two years from the stands as Australia beat Denmark on Monday.
The Matildas won the grueling match against France 7-6 on penalties in the longest penalty shootout in the tournament’s history.
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold made three saves before Cortnee Vine converted the decisive penalty and secured the quarter-final victory in front of a cheering 49,461 fans.
The Matildas play England in the semifinals next Wednesday in Sydney.
Matildas star Sam Kerr (right) was photographed celebrating the team’s incredible win with her soccer friend Kristie Mewis (left).
Kerr (centre) came on as a 55th-minute substitute after suffering a calf injury on the eve of the World Cup opener against Ireland
Struggling with calf problems, Kerr sat out the first three games to recover from the injury he picked up on the eve of the opening game against Ireland.
The 28-year-old was not fit enough to start on Saturday but came on for Van Egmond in the 55th minute.
Just a minute later she charged forward and passed the ball to Hayley Raso, whose long-range effort was brilliantly blocked by Peyraud-Magnin.
From then on, however, neither team could find a chance and the game went into overtime.
Despite the difficult game, Kerr smiled as she later hugged Mewis.
The couple have been together since 2020, having met in 2019 while playing for rival clubs in the US National Women’s Soccer League.
During the 2020 Covid lockdown, they chatted online for almost four months before spending two weeks in quarantine together, where they quickly fell in love.
The loving couple confirmed they first met in 2020 while playing for rival clubs in the US National Women’s Soccer League
The football power couple were first photographed together at a friendly in Newcastle
The couple continued their romance ahead of the 2021 Olympics, where they were photographed together after the USA defeated Australia in the semifinals.
Their embrace on the pitch grabbed headlines as Kerr’s split from her former longtime partner – another US club player Nikki Stanton – was yet to be made public.
Now, almost two years into their high-profile love story, Kerr and Mewis have grown into one of football’s most influential couples and have made a conscious decision to be “open and proud” in both the queer and straight communities.
Their world-spanning romance has also been widely documented on social media, with both women having hundreds of thousands of followers.
After Saturday’s historic victory, Kerr explained that the Matildas wanted to “change football forever in this country” by shining at the World Cup.
Arnold explained how much it means to the team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, but admitted she was “speechless” at the result.
Kerr hugged Mewis (above) after the Matildas’ incredible quarterfinal win
Kerr (above) said the Matildas wanted to “change football forever in this country” through outstanding performances at the World Cup.
“I’m still in the process of processing this.” I think it might take a few days, but we have a fast turnaround so I need to figure it out pretty quickly. Unreal. “I’m speechless right now,” she said.
“I could have won the game for the girls but they looked after me and kept me in the game.”
“Ultimately my job is to keep the ball off the net and luckily I was able to do that.”
“Honestly, we all do it for each other. They were behind me 100 percent.”