‘She plays without a care in the world’: How Caitlin Foord went from fill in Matilda to world stage

Mass retirements following the Matildas’ 2010 Asian Cup win left coach Tom Sermanni scrambling for new talent heading into the World Cup.

He got his first good look at Foord at a series of team training camps in Canberra.

“She was just 16-years-old, but she probably looked about 12, and she would have blown over with a strong wind,” Sermani said.

“She was brought in as a fill-in player; she played anywhere and everywhere.”

The camps were in lieu of playing international matches, but it was behind closed doors on debut against New Zealand in May 2011 that Foord really put her name up in lights.

“She was playing right fullback. After about 10 minutes she got the ball near the edge of the New Zealand area and decided to just beat two or three players and then put the ball in the back of the net.

“That was her arrival.

“I remember looking at my assistant coach and saying ‘well that’s one decision made’.

“Our first game was behind closed doors and we played a lot of young players and fringe players who were in the bubble to make the World Cup squad – that was Caitlin.”

Sermanni said from that moment on Foord got better and better and went on to play every match at the 2011 World Cup – the youngest Australian to play at the tournament at 16.

She was so impressive she earned the Best Young Player of the Tournament award.

Thirteen years later Foord is playing for Arsenal – one of the world’s biggest football clubs – and is a major factor in the Matildas’ fortunes at the Paris Olympics.

It’s an especially important role with captain and striker Sam Kerr ruled out with an ACL injury.

EYES ON GOLD

Foord has played 122 games for Australia and scored 36 goals, but she has yet to celebrate a big prize in the green and gold and that remains a driving force.

The Matildas’ last success at a major tournament was the 2010 Asian Cup – the year before Foord got her call up.

The Matildas finished second at the AFC Asian Cup in 2014 and 2018.

Their minor wins include the 2017 Tournament of Nations and the 2019 and 2023 Cup of Nations.

And Foord was part of the team that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and fourth at last year’s World Cup.

Missing the podium left the team devastated and more determined than ever to win a medal in Paris.

“Every athlete that goes to the Olympics goes there for gold,” Foord said.

“That’s the ultimate goal. But we do have a really tough group, the whole tournament is tough.”

Matildas will face Germany, the United States and Zambia in the group stage of the Olympics starting July 25.

“The first goal is to get out of the group and then progress from there and once you’re there it’s kind of anyone’s game,” Foord said.

“It’s just who’s on in that tournament – so hopefully we are peaking at the right time.”

WHY SHE SHINES

Foord ticked all the boxes as an athlete. Natural ability, strength, speed, agility, incredible work ethic, coachable.

But Sermanni said those things weren’t what put Foord ahead of the pack.

“It’s her attitude,” he said.

“She plays without a care in the world.

“Her first game in the World Cup (2011), was against Brazil and was going to be playing against Marta (regarded as one of the greatest players).

“She didn’t know who Marta was and she really didn’t care. I was giving them a bit of information and she would shrug her shoulders and say ‘yeah, okay’.

“She just had real confidence, she really didn’t care who she was playing against.”

That coupled with her “extraordinary” physical skills is why Sermanni knew Foord was the perfect fit for the national team.

“She’s got the skill set to be both defensively disciplined but also the skills of a dynamic attacker.

“She can dribble, she can shoot, she can protect the ball, she can make good decisions – she’s the whole package.

“It’s not surprising that she’s been and still continues to be successful.”

THE MAKING OF FOORD

Now famous for her strike power and impressive goal scoring ability, Foord actually got her professional start as a defender.

It was former Matildas coach Alen Stajic who first put Foord in the back line when she made her W-League debut for Sydney FC in 2010.

While it hadn’t been her preferred position she flourished and earned a call up to the national team camps in Canberra.

Sermani said Foord could handle multiple positions after playing in defence for the senior national team and then more attacking roles in the U-20s and U-17s national teams.

Foord has also slotted into various teams, moving between Sydney FC, New Jersey-based Sky Blue FC and Perth Glory.

It wasn’t until her return to Sydney FC that Foord found a more permanent home in the front line alongside Princess Ibini-Isei, Lisa de Vanna and Remy Seimsen.

Her 2018-19 season was a standout – scoring 10 goals in 14 matches and five assists.

While Foord has previously said hopping between Australia and America to ensure she was playing football all year round took a toll on her love for the game, Sermanni said it was the best thing she could have done.

“The NWSL helped her physically because it’s a very fast, physical, transitional kind of game,” he said.

“It helped the development of a lot of the players, it was the place to play.

“Going to Europe has polished it off again because the European games are a bit more sophisticated, a little bit more tactical.”

It was Australian coach Joe Montemurro who brought Foord and fellow Matildas’ defender Steph Catley to Arsenal in 2020.

Arsenal finished third in the league. Foord scored an impressive 10 goals in 21 matches.

“If we push aside their footballing talent both of them are the ultimate professionals - fantastic, humble characters that want to be the best and are a pleasure to coach in terms of people, in terms of their humility and their selflessness for the team,” Montemurro said.

“I think both of them have got those talents.

“Then obviously as footballers both have certain qualities that have been proven on the world stage.

“Steph is probably one of the best left sided defenders in the world, while Caitlin is explosive in the final attacking third, which again is a unique quality. Both of them are world class players.”

Montemurro said he was not surprised by what the duo had achieved since he left Arsenal in 2021.

“I always believed they would just get better and better,” he said.

“Being in a pro league, in a tough league and being in the European environment on the biggest stage, against the best teams in the world - there was no doubt they were going to really go to that next level.

“It was just a matter of giving them the challenge within the environment that is European football.”

THE KEY

Foord’s efforts on the pitch for the Matildas have often been overshadowed by Kerr and Hayely Raso.

But with Kerr out injured, Sermanni said Foord’s role at the Paris Olympics would be key to the Matildas’ success.

Since Kerr’s injury Matildas coach Tony Gustavasson has played Foord in several positions depending on his formation and the other players he has selected.

Sermanni said that was what made Foord so dangerous.

“She’s a player who can play several positions and often what happens with those players is when your best team is on the field you don’t tend to get a start because you’ve got specialists in front of you, whereas Caitlin would. Wherever the team needed her she would get a start in the team.

“Regardless of what was needed or who was injured there would be somewhere she could play and she would go in and play that position. She’s done it her whole career.”

Sermanni said the combination between Steph Catley, who also plays at Arsenal, and Foord would also give the Matildas a boost in France.

“That combination between the two is kind of telepathic,” Sermanni said.

“They’ve played together for so long in club and national teams – it is critical particularly when you’ve lost someone like Sam Kerr.”

Foord said Gustavsson also set his structure around the players and who was available.

“With Sam out things have changed, the style of play a little bit.

“Tony has always structured our team around everyone’s qualities and getting the best out of their ability. So it changes a bit depending on who is on the pitch.”

In the lead up to the Olympics, Kerr’s replacement has been recalled striker Michelle Heyman.

“Michelle brings a different dynamic but a lot of us have played with her a few years ago and we’re all familiar with how she plays and it’s been a pretty easy transition,” Foord said.

“She is the same player and brings those qualities and it’s just about us all getting on the same page to bring them out.”

Foord said that playing and training alongside Catley and Arsenal’s latest Aussie recruit Kyra Cooney-Cross day after day was a huge boost in an Olympic year.

“We have to have those connections,” Foord said.

“That does really help us on the international team because most of the time we all start and we are familiar with each other.

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“Steph and I have had plenty of years now and to put Kyra in the mix it’s really good for us to keep on building on those connections.”

The Matildas will play against China in a pre-Olympics friendly in Adelaide on May 31 and Sydney on June 3.

Gustavsson will announce the 18-woman Olympic squad on June 4 and the Matildas to kick off their Olympic campaign against Germany on July 25.

Originally published as ‘She plays without a care in the world’: How Caitlin Foord went from fill in Matilda to world stage