When Emily Gielnik came off the bench for the Matildas against South Africa in October 2022, she had no idea it would be her last appearance in Greend and Gold for almost 800 days.
A total of 785 days, to be exact, had passed before the Melbourne Victory star finally broke that streak against Brazil on the Gold Coast; her long-awaited return to the international fold is the result of Gielnik’s roaring return to full fitness after two challenging years in which her career virtually ground to a halt due to a string of serious injuries.
Now, she’s broken back into the international squad, with her comeback coming in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Brazil.
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Gielnik can hardly believe her international return finally became a reality following her nightmare run with injury.
“It was kind of surreal for me,” Gielnik said. “I didn’t actually realise it was that long a time since I’ve last been in the jersey.
“I’ve been in and out of camps, and I’ve had a troubling time with injury, but I try not to look back on that. I’m here now, and I felt very grateful to get out on the pitch.
“To be honest, it was pretty special for me being back out with the girls. I am always proud to wear the Australian jersey and represent my country. So yeah, to be honest, it was just surreal.”
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Gielnik earned the 58th Matildas cap of her career against Brazil on Sunday after serving as an unused substitute in a 3-1 defeat to the same nation in Brisbane on Thursday, November 28.
She has two more opportunities to add to her cap tally as the Matildas prepare to face Chinese Taipei at AAMI Park on Wednesday, December 4 and GMHBA Stadium on Saturday, December 7.
For Gielnik, simply being back in the camp is a thing of dreams. Having missed both the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games through injury, Gielnik says she’s more determined than ever before to make her mark in green and gold having endured the most challenging years of her career.
“The second I pulled up short before the World Cup was a burning desire to get this jersey back on,” Gielnik said.
“Coming back into camp and unfortunately falling short with another injury right before the Olympics, put a dagger in my heart. I’m not going to lie, It’s probably the most difficult time I’ve ever had in my football career.
“But, I’ve been dying to get this jersey back on. I knew it was going to be a long road. It’s really tough to get back into this squad, and it’s even tougher to stay and I’m well aware of that, and I’m well aware of the jump that it is from A-League back into this national team environment. I’ve been working tirelessly, and I’m really, really fortunate with my A-League club.
“I’ve got a coaching staff that support me, back me, and believe in me 100% to get back to this goalscoring form.
“The most important thing over this time was to never lose belief in myself that I’m good enough to be back here. So it’s all about just proving to myself and taking every opportunity as it comes. For me, I was destined to get back in the second I lost it.”
Gielnik was picked to return to the Matildas squad off the back of a lightning start to the 2024-25 Ninja A-League season at Victory. The 32-year-old has six goals in four games for Victory and the outright lead on the competition’s Golden Boot leaderboard.
Gielnik was one of 15 players from the Ninja A-League who were called into interim head coach Tom Sermanni’s initial 36-player squad; injuries have since resulted in the reduction of that number but Gielnik is eager to act as a leader for the significant contingent of Ninja A-League stars remaining in the squad for two friendlies against Chinese Taipei.
“I think that people that know me, personally, I’m quite a nurturing person,” Gielnik said.
“I’ve developed quite a large leadership role back in my club at home for Melbourne Victory, so I’m hoping to bring some of that experience, and I think we’ve got enough experienced players in this team that are going to be available for these next two games.
“We really need to step up. We need to nurture these girls and also just give a subtle reminder that when you put this jersey on, there is a level of expectation. There is a different demand, and it is a big jump. It’s no secret that there is a level, an increase in intensity from A-League, or just from from your outside club jersey to putting on this jersey. So there’s going to be those expectations there.
“And it’s just about staying positive and getting behind these girls. There’s a reason why Tom (Sermanni) has been following the (Ninja A-League) for a really long time, and those girls are in here with this opportunity for a reason. So it’s just about us experienced players getting behind them.
“Chinese Taipei, it’s going to be a tough battle, and they’re always hard teams to play. When you get in this kind of situation with people that have never played before, and some girls have had over 100 caps, and some girls have never been in the national team camp.
“It’s all about, collectively, how quickly can you regroup and stay connected as a team. The Matildas have that never-say-die spirit. So I think it’s it’s just about coming together as collective as quickly as possible.”
Match details
Matildas v Chinese Taipei
Date: Wednesday, 4 December 2024
Kick-off: 8.00pm AEDT
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Broadcast: 10, 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+
Matildas v Chinese Taipei
Date: Saturday, 7 December 2024
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEDT
Venue: GMHBA Stadium, Geelong
Broadcast: 10, 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+
