Star defender of the Matildas, Alanna Kennedy, has gone viral thanks to her colourful language during the ill-fated match between Australia and the US. Even without a microphone, every Australian could hear Alanna Kennedy’s words crystal clear.
In a devastating end to the Australian women’s soccer team’s Olympic dream, the Matildas lost against the US in a nail-biting 2-1 match, kicking them out of the competition (RIP 😭😭😭).
However, during a last-minute push for a necessary tie-maker goal, one failed attempt from Kennedy at a header resulted in a wildly viral moment online.
Moments after her goal, Kennedy was given another goal-scoring opportunity when a cross from Ellie Carpenter set up a header for her inside the US goalkeeper’s box. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, and Kennedy missed the essential shot.
After the miss, cameras gave a slow-motion replay of Alanna Kennedy’s reaction to the failed attempt, which showed her yelling something in disappointment.
And let’s just say, every Aussie viewer was able to interpret what the Matildas‘ No.14 shouted.
@kat.lukin She’s so real for this ❤️🙏 lol love you @Alanna Kennedy #matildas #olympics ♬ original sound – Kat Lukin
As the commentators from Ted Lasso might say: “Apologies for the fruity lip-reading.”
“Fuck me dead,” yelled Kennedy. (Just in case you need someone to spell it out for you.)
One fan’s recording of the moment has since gone viral, racking up more than 1.2 million views on TikTok.
“She’s so real for this,” commented the user.
Plenty of other fans also jumped to support the beloved Tilly, with one fan asking: “Who just fell in love with Alana Kennedy?”
“I even heard the accent in that,” commented another fan.
Same TikTok, same.
“Oh bother.”
– Alanna Kennedy, 2024 pic.twitter.com/SbJmh6fnOe
— Daniel Phimphisane (@DPhimphisane) August 1, 2024
Petition to give all of the Matildas microphones while they play so we can hear what they say. I’m not really a logistics person, but I promise that this would break even more viewership records that the Matildas already have.
They’re all just such icons, and I hate having to wait so long between games for them. More Tilly content please and thank you.
Of course, this wasn’t even Kennedy’s first time going viral this Olympics.
She and fellow Matilda, goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, scored millions of clicks online after they roasted the Australian Paris Olympics uniform.
Despite the Matildas playing a much stronger defensive game than in previous matches against Germany and Zambia, the USA’s Trinity Rodman and Korbin Albert both managed to break through and score.
And even with a 92-minute-goal from Alanna Kennedy giving the Tillies a final burst of that “never say die” spirit, the hopes of gold at Paris 2024 ended with that match.
To keep the bad news coming, the end of the Matildas’ Olympics run also marked the end of coach Tony Gustavsson‘s contract with Football Australia. Shortly after the heartbreaking loss, Gustavsson’s departure from the team was announced online.
Regardless of the unfortunate result, fans of the Matildas have been nothing but supportive of their beloved team. As they bloody well deserve.
Up the Tillies. YTG. And viva la Alanna Kennedy.
The Paris 2024 Games can be viewed live and on-demand on Channel Nine and 9Now, or on Stan.
[Image: Getty]
