Matildas legend and PFA Vice-President Lydia Williams was honoured on Monday night after she played her final game on home soil for the Australian national team in their 2-0 win over China at Accor Stadium.
Prior to kick-off, Williams was presented with a Booka, an Indigenous animal skin cloak, by Australian tennis legend Evonne Goolagong and received a standing ovation from the thousands in attendance shortly before half-time when she was substituted from the field.
The match was Williams’ 104th in a Matildas jersey, with the 36-year-old a record 76,798 crowd receiving a standing ovation when she was substituted just before half-time.
Williams has been an advocate for the players and the game, having led the Matildas to a strike for equal pay and conditions in 2015.
Williams announced that she will be retiring from international football at the end of the 2024 Paris Olympics, her third as part of the national team after being named as a standby player.
Here’s how X reacted.
