Matildas star and Brisbane Roar W-League midfielder Elise Kellond-Knight could soon be playing in Germany after her heroics at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Kellond-Knight won two player of the match awards in the Australian team’s brave run at the tournament which ended this morning with a 1-0 quarter-final loss to Japan in Edmonton.
The holding midfielder’s stellar efforts have reportedly earned her a lucrative offer from a leading club in Germany’s Frauen Bundesliga.
“I have had a decent offer from Germany, and it’s something really worth considering,”” Kellond-Knight told News Corp yesterday.
Kellond-Knight was among the Roar’s “Magnificent 7” in the Matildas squad – joined by Laura Alleway, Katrina Gorry, Tameka Butt, Larissa Crummer, Hayley Raso and co-captain Clare Polkinghorne.
Kellond-Knight, Alleway, Gorry and Crummer saw game time in the heart-breaking loss to Japan.
Japanese substitute Mana Iwabuchi scored the winner in the 87th minute just as the match looked headed to extra time.
Kellond-Knight described the loss as “devastating”.
She said the entire squad would take time to get over their disappointment but eventually would come to realise the positives from what they had achieved.
“We put (women’s) football on the map in Australia, how much support we had back home . . . the future is really bright,” she said.
Head Coach Alen Stajcic praised his team’s courage and dedication but admitted the first 20 minutes of the contest, which Japan dominated, was a telling factor and in the end they were deserved winners.
“Today I thought the better team won. They kept the ball and had a lot more patience and technique than us, especially in the first 20 minutes of the match, and I think we expended a lot of energy chasing the ball during that period,” Stajcic said.
“Even though they (Japan) scored from a set piece and a scrappy sort of goal they were probably better at more aspects of the game than we were.
“It’s a heartbreaking experience for all of us but in saying that we’ve got such a good base to build from now, it was a good learning experience for everyone and it’s our job to get better – we don’t want to compete with the best, we want to beat the best.”
