Welcome back to Matildas Abroad, where I analyse the performances of all the Aussies playing overseas.
This week's midweek wrap-up will be short even for a midweek one as we only had Champions League action this week other than one Frauen-Bundesliga game. No more Europa Cup games until February next year, but we do have a final week of Champions League league stage action this month before the knockout stages.
Germany (Frauen-Bundesliga) — Raso subbed on in disappointing defeat for Frankfurt
Hayley Raso (pictured) arriving on matchday for Frankfurt, a club where she's still struggling to get minutes. Die Adler have already conceded 10 goals this month, five in each of their two games (both losses). Image source: Instagram (@eintrachtfrankfurtfrauen).
We had one midweek catch-up game in the Frauen-Bundesliga in which Hayley Raso's Eintracht Frankfurt played Nuremberg away, which Die Adler lost 5–3 and dropped down to sixth, having conceded 10 goals in their two December games so far. Hayley came on as a sub after being benched from the starting 11. In the Bundesliga, while she has played 10 of the 12 games played so far this season, she's only averaging 18 minutes per game, has only played 182 minutes all season and has started just one match (their 3–2 away win over Wolfsburg, a crucial win in an entertaining key fixture where she played up front, playing well despite no goals or assists). And with an average Sofascore rating of just 6.48 (worse than her time at Tottenham), it's getting to a point where I'm really asking myself why such a key player for the Matildas (and a player I quite like) can't find her place at a club, having not been a regular starter since her time at Everton? Furthermore, why has she brung her bad luck from Spurs (who finished 11th last season, our worst ever finish) to Frankfurt who are now four points off a European spot?
Champions League — Arsenal, Chelsea & Lyon through, Roma out
Three of the four teams with Aussie players won this week. The three that won have all qualified for at least the playoffs, while the one that lost has been eliminated.
Steph Catley (pictured) training for Arsenal three days ago. Steph has by far had the most consistent minutes this season, making her the most likely to renew her contract when all three of the Gunners' Aussie stars' contracts expire in June 2026. Image source: Instagram (@arsenalwfc).
Both Steph Catley and Kyra Cooney-Cross played a full 90 minutes for Arsenal in their 1–0 home win over Twente, with Caitlin Foord coming on as a substitute. While Arsenal are without their two main goalkeepers due to injury, the rest of the starting lineup looked quite strong, so only winning 1–0 over Twente (who have been eliminated from the Champions League) is pretty poor to be honest. However, at the end of the day, any win gives you three points, whether it's a scrappy win by a goal over a shit team or an absolute battering of the top team.
Teagan Micah (pictured) training for Lyon two days ago as she fights for the number one goalie spot at one of the world's best clubs. Image source: Instagram (@ol.lyonnes).
Teagan Micah was an unused sub for OL Lyonnes in their impressive 3–0 away win over Man United. Lyon sit second in the table but on level points with Barcelona who have a higher goal difference, with Barça, Chelsea and Lyon being the favourites for the title as always (though injuries to a thin squad will weaken Barça despite them having won all but two games this season). Lyon have also kept their 100% win record intact.
Sam Kerr (centre) and Wini Heatley (right), both Matildas teammates, going for a tackle. Chelsea delivered the coup de grâce to a poor Champions League campaign for Roma, who are otherwise having a great domestic season. Image source: Football360.
Wini Heatley played a full 90 minutes for Roma in their resounding 6–0 defeat to Chelsea away from home that saw them eliminated from the Champions League, while for Chelsea, Sam Kerr started but was subbed off while Ellie Carpenter was an unused sub. While E Giallorosse are having a sensational domestic campaign this season, finishing runners-up in the Serie A Women's Cup and currently top of the Serie A Femminile, Roma've only managed to accumulate one point in the Champions League (a 1–1 draw to OH Leuven, the Belgian champions who are performing better than expected and likely to scrape a playoff spot), in contrast to their counterparts Juventus who are fourth in the Champions League. Meanwhile, the Blues got their first win in all competitions in just under a month, after a series of draws and last weekend's upset loss to Everton at home. It was also Chelsea's first win at home in all competitions since October.
Transfer Talk — McLean back at Tampa Bay Sun
Again, four Aussies (Charlotte McLean from North Carolina Courage, Amy Sayer and Remy Siemsen from Kristianstad, and Kaitlyn Torpey from Portland Thorns) are on the move after being released by their clubs.
Charlotte McLean (centre) training with Tampa Bay Sun four days ago, despite being a free agent following the expiration of her loan from North Carolina Courage, who released her. Image source: Instagram (@tampabaysunfc).
We only have one rumour so far, but it's a big one! Charlotte, who was previously loaned out to Tampa Bay Sun until the end of the 2025 NWSL season when she was released by the Courage, was seen back in training at the Sun despite no official announcement of a loan extension or a permanent move.
As for when the transfer windows open, France's and Germany's open first on 1 January, followed by England's, Italy's and Spain's on 2 January. As for when they close, France's and Spain's close first on 30 January, followed by Germany and Italy's on 2 February and England's on 3 February. America's transfer window runs from 20 January to 16 March, while Sweden's runs from 29 January to 25 March. In Australia we don't have a January transfer window for the A-League Women but the June transfer window is actually still open, closing on 29 December, though transfers are rare after the season starts.
Player of the Week — Kyra Cooney-Cross
Kyra Cooney-Cross embraces Beth Mead as Arsenal celebrate Mead’s match-winning goal against Twente.
This week's Player of the Week award goes to Kyra Cooney-Cross! This week's award was decided by Sofascore ratings as no players scored, assisted or kept clean sheets, but Kyra recorded an impressive 7.6 rating on Sofascore. Congrats Kyra!!!
Conclusion
That's all for this week, but stay tuned as we only have a few more wrap-ups to go before Christmas (including one more continental one for the final day of the Champions League league stage)! As always feel free to comment any questions or to discuss the weekend's matches. Thanks for reading, hopefully you enjoyed and found this useful!
This week's midweek wrap-up will be short even for a midweek one as we only had Champions League action this week other than one Frauen-Bundesliga game. No more Europa Cup games until February next year, but we do have a final week of Champions League league stage action this month before the knockout stages.
Germany (Frauen-Bundesliga) — Raso subbed on in disappointing defeat for Frankfurt
Hayley Raso (pictured) arriving on matchday for Frankfurt, a club where she's still struggling to get minutes. Die Adler have already conceded 10 goals this month, five in each of their two games (both losses). Image source: Instagram (@eintrachtfrankfurtfrauen).
We had one midweek catch-up game in the Frauen-Bundesliga in which Hayley Raso's Eintracht Frankfurt played Nuremberg away, which Die Adler lost 5–3 and dropped down to sixth, having conceded 10 goals in their two December games so far. Hayley came on as a sub after being benched from the starting 11. In the Bundesliga, while she has played 10 of the 12 games played so far this season, she's only averaging 18 minutes per game, has only played 182 minutes all season and has started just one match (their 3–2 away win over Wolfsburg, a crucial win in an entertaining key fixture where she played up front, playing well despite no goals or assists). And with an average Sofascore rating of just 6.48 (worse than her time at Tottenham), it's getting to a point where I'm really asking myself why such a key player for the Matildas (and a player I quite like) can't find her place at a club, having not been a regular starter since her time at Everton? Furthermore, why has she brung her bad luck from Spurs (who finished 11th last season, our worst ever finish) to Frankfurt who are now four points off a European spot?
Champions League — Arsenal, Chelsea & Lyon through, Roma out
Three of the four teams with Aussie players won this week. The three that won have all qualified for at least the playoffs, while the one that lost has been eliminated.
Steph Catley (pictured) training for Arsenal three days ago. Steph has by far had the most consistent minutes this season, making her the most likely to renew her contract when all three of the Gunners' Aussie stars' contracts expire in June 2026. Image source: Instagram (@arsenalwfc).
Both Steph Catley and Kyra Cooney-Cross played a full 90 minutes for Arsenal in their 1–0 home win over Twente, with Caitlin Foord coming on as a substitute. While Arsenal are without their two main goalkeepers due to injury, the rest of the starting lineup looked quite strong, so only winning 1–0 over Twente (who have been eliminated from the Champions League) is pretty poor to be honest. However, at the end of the day, any win gives you three points, whether it's a scrappy win by a goal over a shit team or an absolute battering of the top team.
Teagan Micah (pictured) training for Lyon two days ago as she fights for the number one goalie spot at one of the world's best clubs. Image source: Instagram (@ol.lyonnes).
Teagan Micah was an unused sub for OL Lyonnes in their impressive 3–0 away win over Man United. Lyon sit second in the table but on level points with Barcelona who have a higher goal difference, with Barça, Chelsea and Lyon being the favourites for the title as always (though injuries to a thin squad will weaken Barça despite them having won all but two games this season). Lyon have also kept their 100% win record intact.
Sam Kerr (centre) and Wini Heatley (right), both Matildas teammates, going for a tackle. Chelsea delivered the coup de grâce to a poor Champions League campaign for Roma, who are otherwise having a great domestic season. Image source: Football360.
Wini Heatley played a full 90 minutes for Roma in their resounding 6–0 defeat to Chelsea away from home that saw them eliminated from the Champions League, while for Chelsea, Sam Kerr started but was subbed off while Ellie Carpenter was an unused sub. While E Giallorosse are having a sensational domestic campaign this season, finishing runners-up in the Serie A Women's Cup and currently top of the Serie A Femminile, Roma've only managed to accumulate one point in the Champions League (a 1–1 draw to OH Leuven, the Belgian champions who are performing better than expected and likely to scrape a playoff spot), in contrast to their counterparts Juventus who are fourth in the Champions League. Meanwhile, the Blues got their first win in all competitions in just under a month, after a series of draws and last weekend's upset loss to Everton at home. It was also Chelsea's first win at home in all competitions since October.
Transfer Talk — McLean back at Tampa Bay Sun
Again, four Aussies (Charlotte McLean from North Carolina Courage, Amy Sayer and Remy Siemsen from Kristianstad, and Kaitlyn Torpey from Portland Thorns) are on the move after being released by their clubs.
Charlotte McLean (centre) training with Tampa Bay Sun four days ago, despite being a free agent following the expiration of her loan from North Carolina Courage, who released her. Image source: Instagram (@tampabaysunfc).
We only have one rumour so far, but it's a big one! Charlotte, who was previously loaned out to Tampa Bay Sun until the end of the 2025 NWSL season when she was released by the Courage, was seen back in training at the Sun despite no official announcement of a loan extension or a permanent move.
As for when the transfer windows open, France's and Germany's open first on 1 January, followed by England's, Italy's and Spain's on 2 January. As for when they close, France's and Spain's close first on 30 January, followed by Germany and Italy's on 2 February and England's on 3 February. America's transfer window runs from 20 January to 16 March, while Sweden's runs from 29 January to 25 March. In Australia we don't have a January transfer window for the A-League Women but the June transfer window is actually still open, closing on 29 December, though transfers are rare after the season starts.
Player of the Week — Kyra Cooney-Cross
Kyra Cooney-Cross embraces Beth Mead as Arsenal celebrate Mead’s match-winning goal against Twente.
This week's Player of the Week award goes to Kyra Cooney-Cross! This week's award was decided by Sofascore ratings as no players scored, assisted or kept clean sheets, but Kyra recorded an impressive 7.6 rating on Sofascore. Congrats Kyra!!!
Conclusion
That's all for this week, but stay tuned as we only have a few more wrap-ups to go before Christmas (including one more continental one for the final day of the Champions League league stage)! As always feel free to comment any questions or to discuss the weekend's matches. Thanks for reading, hopefully you enjoyed and found this useful!
