Between the Women’s World Cup and Barbie, we’re finally having an honest discussion about girlhood | Van Badham

To see the wild, thrilled faces of young fans is to remember the euphorias of my own girlhood that, sadly, never got to include howling at professional women's football

The tears came the night the Australians beat Canada in the Women's World Cup.

It wasn't at the beginning of the match, with anxiety, when the Matildas marched out to play knowing the match was do-or-die for their World Cup hopes, star skipper Sam Kerr on the bench and not quite - not yet - recovered from injury. It wasn't with relief at the nine-minute mark, when Australia's Hayley Raso scored that first, dam-busting goal. It wasn't even at the end of the game when the whistle blew. Australia's thundering 4-0 triumph over the Olympic champs obliged sportswriters worldwide to acknowledge Australia didn't merely beat the Canadians; Australia destroyed them.

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