Sam Kerr: Matildas AFC Asian Cup campaign set to be sentimental as baby Jagger watches on

There will be one very special fan in attendance when Sam Kerr leads the Matildas onto Optus Stadium to kick off their AFC Women’s Asian Cup campaign — her baby son Jagger.

It will be the 11-month-old’s first time watching his mum play for Australia and Kerr is keen to score a home-town win for her boy.

“Maybe if it wasn’t such a big game, I might have walked out with him,” Kerr said. “I need to be focused for the big games but it’s still going to be an amazing moment.

“I’ve had friends and family messaging me about being there and everyone’s so excited.

“It’s really special playing in front of your home crowd, and having all my family there, and (wife) Kristie (Mewis), and then obviously the cherry on top is Jags being there the first time.”

It’s been a long time coming for West Australian fans who, by the time Kerr takes to the pitch on March 1, will have waited 851 days to see her play with the Matildas on home soil after a knee injury sidelined the superstar.

“We obviously didn’t get to bring the Matildas to Perth for the World Cup, so it is amazing to have the opening ceremony there and have that big moment for all the West Australian fans,” the striker said.

The event will be a family-friendly extravaganza with KPop Demon Hunters star Audrey Nuna performing hits from the global Netflix smash.

“My nephews are so excited about that,” Kerr, who is based in London, said. “They were straight on the phone to me about it.

“I think that’s the beauty of women’s football, it has this electric sports feel to it but it also has this really beautiful family vibe.”

While Perth may have missed out on a home-team match when Australia and New Zealand hosted the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, WA was still swept up in the nationwide Matildas frenzy.

That passion went on to spark a groundswell of interest in the sport in 2024, with participation in grassroots and community soccer increasing by 11 per cent, with a 16 per cent spike in the number of women and girls enrolled across the country.

“If you had asked me 15 years ago would we be in this position, I would have never believed, because it just seemed so unattainable,” Kerr said. “But the sport’s just gone boom in the last few years, and it’s really cool to be part of that.”

Despite her absence on the pitch, Kerr, who also plays for English Women’s Super League team Chelsea, hasn’t stayed away from WA, recently marrying Mewis at a lavish New Year’s Eve ceremony in the Swan Valley.

She said while Mewis tried to sell her on the idea of marrying in Italy, Perth soon became the obvious choice.

“Kristie tried the Italy thing for like a few weeks,” she said. “But it quickly turned to Perth mostly because it would allow for most of our friends and family to be there.”

The wedding went off without a hitch according to Kerr, who later shared videos and photos on socials.

“It sounds cliche, but it was literally everything we ever dreamed of,” Kerr said. “We had so many family and friends there and it just turned out to be the most amazing day.

“We are still feeling the lows from all it being all over.”

While she may still be on a wedding-high comedown she said her form on the pitch has been good following the ACL injury.

She made her first home start with the Matildas in 736 days was in a friendly against New Zealand in December and has been in good touch for Chelsea in recent weeks.

“As a striker I always want to score more goals and to be playing more but I am really happy with how I am going and and I think I’m, hopefully, hitting some good form leading up into the Asian Cup,” she said.

Kerr said while opening-match competitor the Philippines is a team on the rise, she expected home fans will have plenty to cheer about.

“We can’t take any game lightly but if you look at the rankings and previous results against the Philippines, we would expect to win this game,” she said.

Despite the fact the Matildas will only have a few opportunities to train together ahead of the Perth game due to players flying in at various times from various places, Kerr said the team “will be ready”.

“I think it makes it a little bit more fun when you arrive on the Tuesday and you play on the Friday night, it makes it a little bit exciting,” she said.

She considers Japan the Matildas’ biggest rival and cites China and Korea as strong contenders but, having last won the Asian Cup in front of 1200 people in China when Kerr was just 16, the now 32-year-old is optimistic that her team has what it takes to win the final in Sydney.

“To win a trophy with this group of girls would be a dream come true,” she said. “We’ve missed out so many times and we came close the last two major tournaments so to just win would be amazing but to do it in with 80,000 Australians there and the whole crowd behind us would be incredible.”

The Matildas take on the Philippines at the AFC Asian Cup opening ceremony at Optus Stadium on March 1