Incredible moment Sam Kerr undresses Australia’s luckiest soccer fan after helping the Matildas beat France: ‘It means the world to her’
- Fan got the memory of his life with the superstar striker
- Kerr gave his jersey to an adoring young spectator
- The Matildas won their quarterfinal against France
Sam Kerr has shown her class off the pitch by handing her jersey to a young spectator after Matildas’ epic quarterfinal win over France at the Women’s World Cup on Saturday night.
The Australians won the nail-biting game against France 7-6 on penalties in the longest shootout in the history of any World Cup tournament.
Goaltender Mackenzie Arnold made three saves before Cortnee Vine converted the game-winning shot to seal the win in front of a cheering 49,461 fans and send the Matildas to their first Cup semifinal.
Kerr, who has been battling injury throughout the tournament, came off the bench in the 55th minute and converted his penalty in the shootout.
After celebrating the historic win with her teammates, Kerr was caught on camera walking to the stands and handing her jersey to a young spectator.
Kerr came off the bench in the 55th minute and converted his penalty in the shootout
The girl was absolutely delighted with the gift from the Australian superstar and couldn’t stop smiling.
‘Sam Kerr has given his jersey to a fan. Can you even imagine being that child?’ said Amy Duggan of Optus Sport.
American soccer star Jess McDonald responded: ‘Those are some of the best moments for kids. When the team is delivered by the best players in the world and there’s no one better than Sam Kerr.’
On Sunday morning, the young fan, Sarah, appeared on the Today Show and revealed what she told Kerr.
‘I said, ‘Can I have your shirt?’ We were yelling, “Can I have your T-shirt please?” Sarah said.
He gave it to me and I said thank you. She was like, “Awww, okay,” and I was so happy.
Viewers also loved the heartwarming moment.
“That’s amazing,” wrote one Twitter user. That girl will remember that moment all her life. She looks so excited. I love her. ‘
“Her face, it means a lot to her,” said another.
Kerr was also caught on camera having a quiet moment to herself after the match’s dramatic conclusion.
“After the game, when everyone was celebrating, I took a moment to myself on the bench,” Kerr told Channel 7, before explaining why he needed some time to take it all in.
Kerr said that after the celebrations she needed a moment to herself to process it all.
Kerr said the team was “strangely calm” during the dramatic shootout.
“We keep saying we can’t believe it. We’ve grown up together, us girls, and we’ve always talked about this and we know we can do it.
“We’ve just come up short (before), so I think the fact that we’ve reached a semi-final at a World Cup now, we’re all so shocked.”
‘Oh my gosh, I just can’t believe it.’
Kerr went on to explain how the team kept their nerve in the shootout.
“Weirdly, it was super quiet, because we had that process,” Kerr told Channel 7.
Of course it’s stressful on the outside. But we were all very cool and had a lot of faith in (goalie Mackenzie Arnold).
We’ve been doing that all week, all month actually. The process we went through kept us very calm.
“At the most stressful time, it was actually pretty calm.”
The Matildas will play England in the semi-final next Wednesday at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
