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Soccer shocker: Australians, a nation of rugby league fans, fall for football

Related Topics: Kasey Symons

MELBOURNE, Australia — Millions of eyeballs glued to TV screens, tens of thousands screaming in stadiums, public broadcasts erupting with passionate fans. It turns out Australians love soccer.

This year’s FIFA women’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, has already surpassed the ticket sales of each previous women’s tournaments, with more than 1.7 million tickets sold, and the tournament hasn’t even reached the quarterfinals yet.

In Australia, the country has well and truly gotten behind its national team, which it calls the Matildas.

World Cup 2023

See full coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.