Australia's captain Kerr solely focused on home FIFA World Cup glory

Canberra, June 14 (IANS) Australian women's football captain Sam Kerr has declared winning the World Cup at home is the biggest goal of her career.

Kerr, 29, will on July 20 lead the Matildas onto the pitch for their opening game at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup against Ireland in Sydney, reports Xinhua.

The tournament, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand, shapes the biggest event in the history of Australian football and Kerr's career.

Currently ranked 10th in the world, the Matildas are widely considered contenders to become the first Australian team to win the World Cup following recent victories over fellow top-ranked teams England, Spain and Sweden.

"It would be the ultimate dream. That's why I play football. That's why I do what I do every day. That's why I sacrifice so much, to win a World Cup," Kerr was quoted by the Australian Associated Press (AAP) on Tuesday.

Kerr is the all-time leading scorer in Australian history but missed a crucial penalty as Australia were knocked out of the 2019 World Cup by Norway in a round-of-16 shootout.

Despite the added pressure of hosting the tournament, Kerr said she and her teammates were solely focused on their preparation with 36 days to go until the tournament starts.

"The most important thing is we focus on ourselves and focus on performing to the best of our ability and enjoying it too, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," she said.

"You don't want it to become a bad experience by getting overawed by the crowd or whatever it may be, you want to enjoy this experience."

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