Emily van Egmond becomes the fourth Australian to reach 150 international caps.
- Emily van Egmond has surpassed 160 caps for the Matildas, but many fans believe her best playing days are behind her.
- Despite strong criticism, she continues to be selected — and may soon become Australia’s most capped footballer ever.
- Several other midfield talents (e.g. Amy Sayer, Alex Chidiac, Remy Siemsen) are overlooked in favour of van Egmond.
- There are growing concerns that her continued selection may overshadow Clare Polkinghorne’s legacy.
If you're reading this article, then you, like myself and many other Matildas supporters, tragics, casual fans or simply those who have jumped on the Tillies bandwagon, will no doubt know about the situation in which we find ourselves, in particular with regards to one Emily van Egmond and her continued selection to the national team fold, despite the fact that she is clearly past her prime. In case you're not in the loop with how this situation came about, let me fill you in on all the happenings.
December 7th, 2024 saw the Matildas thrash Chinese Taipei 6-0 at GMHBA Stadium, better known as the home ground of the Geelong Cats in the AFL, and the curtain close on the illustrious career of Clare Polkinghorne, one which had spanned eighteen years (6,746 days from her debut in Shanghai to her last game, to be precise), garnering 169 caps, sixteen international goals, three selections for the Olympics, two Julie Dolan Medals and countless domestic and international trophies, including the 2008 AFF Women's Championship and 2010 Women's Asian Cup triumphs, to say the least. Something which is more important to note, however, is the fact that this game also marked the milestone 150th appearance for Emily van Egmond, the player whom this article concerns.
Life after Polks would largely be a mixed affair. Following the long and arduous offseason where we were bereft of Matildas games for two months over the festive season, Holly Mac would be back, Mary Fowler would rupture her ACL, there would still be no sign of Sam Kerr and Sermanni would conclude his third stint at the helm with a winless debut in the SheBelieves Cup, along with two wins apiece against South Korea and Argentina, before handing over the reigns to current head coach Joe Montemurro. Of course, during that period of time, up until now, van Egmond would also earn eleven more caps, taking her to a grand total of 161 appearances in green and gold.
Indeed, much of the discussion on this very forum, and possibly elsewhere, has been criticism of her continued selection for the Australian women's national football team, the fact that she 'hasn't been going strong for at least the last 4 years', has 'outstayed her time', the odd accusation of nepotism, and frankly, the harsh reality that Emily van Egmond is well and truly past her prime.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of this criticism seems to have fallen on deaf ears, since Montemurro has given van Egmond the privilege of donning the green and gold jersey for the entirety of the current June/July international window. Inevitably and eventually, she will equal the all time appearances record for an Australian footballer, men's or women's, and subsequently break the record altogether. Assuming she plays in both games against Panama, in addition to every game throughout the rest of this year, this will be the case by the time the Women's Asian Cup on home soil rolls around come March next year. Questions must therefore be asked as to why Emily van Egmond is still being selected in national team squads, as vice-captain, no less, despite only plying her trade for a club in the English second division and undoubtedly regressing, why we are not turning to other options, and whether Football Australia is willing to undermine the legacy of one of the all-time greats of the game in Clare Polkinghorne, half a year on from her swansong.
First and foremost, I feel that the head coach has a responsibility to select players of the highest calibre to represent the country on the world stage; there are many more options for players who can play in midfield or as an attacking midfielder/forward, something evidently true over the course of the two-game series against Slovenia at HBF Park this past Thursday and Sunday, and even during the international window prior to this one: namely, the likes of Amy Sayer and Hayley Raso, fringe players like Alex Chidiac, Remy Siemsen and Izzy Gomez, perhaps Chloe Berryhill, or maybe even relatively new names to the national team setup in Alana Murphy and Sharn Freier, as well as Kahli Johnson. Is there a lack of players within the national team pool necessitating the constant callups for Emily van Egmond, or are we just overlooking these other options? I fear that the latter is the case, and if things do not change sooner or later, this will continue for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, I also believe that a rethink of the Matildas' leadership group is necessary, especially at this time, in the continued absence of mainstays like stand-in captain Steph Catley, as there are players who are better at assuming the captaincy and leading the line in my opinion, one of whom is another vice-captain in Ellie Carpenter, as was demonstrated over the first two games of Montemurro's tenure.
Finally, I would like to pose the question of whether Football Australia is willing, even eager to undermine the legacy of Clare Polkinghorne, one of the all-time greats of the round ball game in Australia, by passing the mantle of most capped Australian footballer ever to Emily van Egmond, a prospect which will sadly become a reality a mere eight months or so from now if the current selection policy remains as is. As things stand, van Egmond getting a Matildas callup is as certain as death and taxes, and I lament the fact that though both individuals aforementioned over the course of this article have had equally storied careers of similar longevity, one of them is now on the cusp of stealing the limelight from the other. I yearn for the day, however long it may take, when we may no longer see Emily van Egmond as part of a Matildas squad, regardless of its size, and we begin to move towards a new generation of players for future major tournament cycles.
