Caitlin Foord opens up on her Matildas' highlights and Olympic dreams

Australia's favourite sporting team finished fourth at the Tokyo games in 2021 and fourth again at the World Cup last year on home soil.

Foord told the Mercury the Matildas are hoping to do something special in Paris.

The Arsenal FC forward is home in Wollongong enjoying some down time before heading back to England and then hooking up with the Matildas to prepare to go to her third Olympics.

On Tuesday a giant mural of the Warilla junior was unveiled outside a Wollongong building.

The 29-year-old spoke to this reporter about "this special tribute" and her footballing plans moving forward.

"I've got a big tournament coming up with the Olympics. Hopefully we go over there and do something special with the girls, that's obviously the goal and the hopes," Foord said.

"All focus will be on that and then I've got two more years at Arsenal and then we've got an Asian Cup to look forward to here in Australia.

"That's another massive, exciting tournament. There's a lot of exciting football to come - we deserve that after the showcase we put on with the World Cup here."

Her immediate concern is Paris.

This will be Foord's third Olympic Games, with the Shellharbour-born attacker scoring a goal in Australia's 2-2 draw with Germany in the group stage of the Rio Olympics, where Australia was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Brazil on penalties.

Foord is one of eight players in the 2024 squad set to compete at three Olympic Games.

She joins captain Steph Cattley, vice-captains Emily Van Egmond and Ellie Carpenter, Mackenzie Arnold, Alanna Kennedy, Clare Polkinghorne and Tameka Yallop in becoming three-time Olympians in Paris.

The Matildas enter Paris off the back of Australia's best Olympic finish.

Drawn in a pool with former gold medallists USA and Germany along with Zambia, the team will open its campaign the day before the opening ceremony, July 25, against Germany in Marseille.

Foord said winning an Olympics medal was in the back of the players' minds.

"It's not a conversation as of yet. I think it's in the back of everyone's mind without actually having to speak about it," she said.

"To finish fourth at the Olympics and then do it again at the World Cup ...

"To be so close, yeah I think those memories will stay in the back of our mind going throughout this tournament, and I hope that's what's going to push us through to not want to end up there again."

Foord said while Australia had a tough draw, it was to be expected at an Olympic tournament.

"There's no easy games at the Olympics," she said.

"Once you get out of the group, the next game's going to be just as hard. That's just how tournament football is.

"But if we get off to a good start in our group, it's not going to be easy with Germany and USA in the top 10, and the African teams aren't easy as well as we've seen at the World Cup, where we've lost to Nigeria.

"Every game is going to be tough but I think if we overcome these teams, it will give us a massive boost and confidence going throughout the tournament, which will be huge."

The career highlights of former Illawarra Stingrays player Foord are many.

She was the youngest player to represent Australia at a World Cup, picked at the age of 16 for the 2011 showpiece.

Foord has played three more World Cups since then and has racked up 175 appearances for the Matildas.

In 2016 she was named AFC Player of the year, becoming only the second player to win youth and senior player of the year awards.

But it's perhaps no surprise Foord's most "cherished highlights" happened here in Australia at last year's World Cup.

"The World Cup here in itself, I think as a whole, was very special," she said.

"The opening game was especially special, as were all the Sydney Games at Stadium Australia. To have all my family and friends there, watching me on the world stage, which I never thought would be possible......was a very special moment.

"Another highlight was probably the penalty shootout, like everyone else around Australia.

"That was not only for the excitement of things, for us that was a hurdle we overcome as a team. We had never won a penalty shootout in a major tournament before. So to finally break that barrier and get over that was just a massive step for us as a team.

"The other highlight was probably my goal against Denmark at Stadium Australia. Again to have all my family and friends there, that was just such a special moment for me."