Sally James has the Matildas in her future – and the new Perth Glory signing is more determined than ever to get there thanks to the inspiring 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Sally James took her place among more than 75,000 supporters packing out Stadium Australia as the Matildas faced England in the semi-finals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
While the majority of the fans in attendance were fixated on the action, James would find herself casting her eye to either side of the pitch, where goalkeepers Mackenzie Arnold and Mary Earps stood in between the sticks.
She’d watch closely as the two keepers patrolled their respective penalty areas, and analysed their positioning in respect to the play. Amid the noise, a trained ear could hear both Earps and Arnold barking commands at their defensive lines.
James is 20 years old. She’s been to an U20 World Cup with the Young Matildas, and if her career trajectory follows its current course, she’s odds on to feature in the senior Matildas setup in due time.
Watching two of the World Cup’s best-performing keepers in the flesh, in the biggest international tournament to ever take place on Australian shores, was “invaluable” to the highly-rated youngster with the world at her feet.
“I think I went to about six games,” James tells aleagues.com.au. “Going to the World Cup and seeing players that you see on TV, and the players that you want to emulate in real life, it was just so good.
“I feel like, especially with the broadcast, they’re typically following the ball, but when I was at the World Cup, I could watch the positioning of the goalkeeper who isn’t always going to be in the frame. I could hear what they’re saying, things like that. I think it was just invaluable.
“It’s no secret Mackenzie (Arnold) had an incredible tournament and I think the way she’s held herself over the past couple of years, I can look up to that.
“And then Mary Earps, she’s just class. I think she has such cool to her story, it shows you how quickly things can change in football.
“She went from not really playing and thinking of retiring or moving on and doing something else with her life – and then within a year or two, she was England’s number one. She’s loving her football and playing for Manchester United. She’s just having such a good career and she goes to show, just keep pushing and your time will come.”
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James is part of an exciting crop of up-and-coming Aussie prospects who just last year started in goal for each of Australia’s three group games at the U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
Now James is a key fixture of the Australia U23’s; all the while her club career has wound through Canberra United, Melbourne City and now to Perth Glory, where she is set to play alongside fellow U23 star Hana Lowry in a young and exciting Glory squad.
James is staying with Lowry at her family home in Perth as she settles into life at her new club; together they travelled with the Australia U23’s to Varese, Italy in late September for a training camp and games against Scotland and AC Milan.
“I’ve kind of crashed her house,” says James. “I’m living in her brother’s room. Her brother’s been really good about it. He’s moved into their music room at the moment, actually.
“We lived together when we’re in Sydney (on national duty), with a host family…. I think we’re very similar people. We’re quite like-minded, she helps me out and I’d like to think that I can help her out even, even if it’s just a little bit.
“She’s a role model for me. Being around good people can really help you because they set a good example.”
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James says September’s Australia U23 camp took on a different feel to camps gone by due to the success of the World Cup on home soil. There was a distinct buzz as the nation’s next generation of aspiring Matildas landed in Italy with the memories of what they witnessed just weeks prior fresh in their mind.
“In the U23 setup, they want to try and play how the Matildas play,” James explained.
“When you make that transition, the idea is that you’ve been exposed to the tactics and the way of play that the Matildas have or the style of play that the Matildas have. So when you go in it, it’s not such a big change, you’re like: ‘Okay, I’ve seen this before. This is what they want me to do’. You can adjust more easily, which I think is a really good idea.
“At the beginning (of the camp), they did show clips of the Matildas throughout the World Cup and then we would try and do the same thing. I remember watching certain things happen during the World Cup, and I didn’t really realise the depth behind it, to make that happen.”
Both James and Lowry have since returned from the U23 camp to resume a demanding pre-season training schedule under Glory head coach Alex Epakis; if the shift from Melbourne to life on the west coast wasn’t a stark enough contrast for James at her new club, her day-to-day life as part of Glory’s goalkeeping union serves as a reminder of just how different her new environment is compared to the 2022-23 Liberty A-League season spent at Melbourne City.
Keeping James company at City was Melissa Barbieri, Matildas legend with a professional football career spanning more than a quarter of a century. Now James is competing for a starting role in Perth with 22-year-old Morgan Aquino and 18-year-old Lilly Bailey.
James describes it as a move out of her comfort zone – but one she is relishing among a welcoming Glory squad ready to help push her onward in her career.
“I’ve really been enjoying it so far,” James says. “We’ve got a great group of girls. Everyone’s so friendly and I feel like I’ve just been able to settle in so much easier because of that.
“It’s difficult moving into a new environment and it’s like, out of your comfort zone, but such a supportive group of girls and coaching staff makes it a lot easier.”
James and Perth Glory begin the Liberty A-League campaign at home to Western United on Saturday, October 14.
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