Only Friends

Chapter 56 - Progress

We travelled to Brisbane, from Perth, to play Switzerland in the quarter finals. We were ready to win, ready to go to the semis. We could see the light at the end of the tunnel, and as we headed into the game, we were the only team who hadn't been scored against. We had a clean sheet from all our games, due to Ellie, Tegan and me being strong in the defense. 

Our game against Switzerland was tough, but we knew it was going to be. Their midfielders were amazing, especially Wally. She carried their team, and was the only reason they were able to compete against us so well. But in the 42nd minute, we had a break. I intercepted the ball off the Swiss number 9, and passed it over the mess to Sam who quickly ran past all defenders and was one on one with the keeper. She nailed the shot, perfectly. All the girls piled on top of her, ecstatic that we had scored . I ran over to her as quickly as I could, trying to find her under the mess of all the other Matildas.
As she emerged, I grabbed her and pulled her in.
"We are going to do this," I said with confidence.
"We are going to do it," she replied.

We kept leading by the end of the match, winning 1-0. Despite being the underdogs, Switzerland put up a very good fight, not giving up their bid to go to the semis.

"We did it!" I said to the girls in the locker room after the match, "we are going to the fucking semi finals of the World Cup!" We all cheered and screamed, danced and sang. It was the best feeling knowing we had made it. We were going to the semi finals.

I found a picture of me talking to Sam after she had scored. I posted it on my Instagram.

indiharrison: semi finals? yes pls!!!

Samanthakerr20: YESSSSSSS

Emilyvanegmond10: off to Melbourne we go!

Elliecarpenter: windy indiii

Indiharrison: @elliecarpenter ellie belly

Ellie and I had always been close, since we both debuted when we were 15. We were both so young when we entered the international stage, and we both thrived. We built a special friendship, from bonding over our shared experience.

The US beat Canada in a penalty shootout after the game was tied 0-0 after extra time. Kristie scored the winning penalty for the US which made both Sam and I smile with joy. She wasn't set to take the penalty, but they were still even after five scorers, so they had to go up to seven until there was a break.

England won easily against Argentina, with Ellen White scoring a double. I was proud of Leah, and her team. They really are a strong team, with exceptional talent flowing throughout.

The Sweden game against the Netherlands was filled with controversy. As the Dutch led going into the 90th minute, Sweden claimed they should have been given a penalty when their number nine was supposedly tripped in the box. But it wasn't awarded, and the Netherlands won, 1-0. Sweden weren't happy, but they accepted the loss knowing there wasn't anything they could do about it.

"Magda was talking to me about it," Sam said, as we were in our hotel room. Emily, Sam, and I were sitting on the floor of the room, chatting about the games.
"What'd she say?" Emily asked.
"Well, she is pissed," Sam started to say, "but she can't do anything."
"I mean it's annoying. Imagine if that was us," I added in. As I said this, my phone started to ring. It was Jill.
"Sorry guys, let me take this." I stood up and went into the bathroom, sitting on the seat.
"Hi," I said into the phone.
"Hey," Jill answered.
"You okay?" I asked her.
"Yeah, yeah, all good. Just wanted to know how your day was." As she said this, something fluttered in my stomach. She was ringing about my day. She wanted to know about my life. I knew she felt the same as I did. It was obvious. We both knew.