Over the weekend, Melbourne Victory star Beattie Goad announced her retirement from football at just 27, which comes as players say the part-time nature of the competition is unsustainable long-term.

Australia is pretty quick to dump on an underperforming team, but there are two reasons why I think the Matildas can reach the knockout phase from here.

FORMER Matildas player Elise Kellond-Knight will be among a star-studded line-up playing for Avondale in a pre-season exhibition soccer match in Bendigo this Saturday.