| Kyra Cooney-Cross | |
| Fullname: | Kyra Lillee Cooney-Cross |
| Height: | 165 cm[1] |
| Birth Date: | 15 February 2002 |
| Birth Place: | Herston, Queensland, Australia |
| Currentclub: | Arsenal |
| Clubnumber: | 32 |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Youthyears1: | 2013–2016 |
| Youthclubs1: | Ballarat City |
| Years1: | 2017–2019 |
| Clubs1: | Melbourne Victory |
| Caps1: | 16 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs2: | Western Sydney Wanderers |
| Caps2: | 13 |
| Goals2: | 4 |
| Years3: | 2020–2022 |
| Clubs3: | Melbourne Victory |
| Caps3: | 28 |
| Goals3: | 7 |
| Years4: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs4: | Hammarby IF |
| Caps4: | 30 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Years5: | 2023– |
| Clubs5: | Arsenal |
| Caps5: | 22 |
| Goals5: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2016–2017 |
| Nationalteam1: | Australia U-17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 14 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 14 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2018– |
| Nationalteam2: | Australia U-20 |
| Nationalcaps2: | 8 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 7 |
| Nationalyears3: | 2021– |
| Nationalteam3: | Australia |
| Nationalcaps3: | 52 |
| Nationalgoals3: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 16 November 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 28 October 2024 |
Kyra Lillee Cooney-Cross (; born 15 February 2002) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Arsenal and the Australia women's national team. She has previously played for Hammarby IF in the Damallsvenskan, as well as Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory in the W-League.
Cooney-Cross was born to Jessica Cooney and Jai Cross in Herston, Queensland. Jai played soccer at semi-pro level in Queensland with Sunshine Coast and he wanted his daughter to grow up with a ball at her feet. Usually playing with older girls and boys, at the age of 13, she started at FFV NTC and a year later trialled for the Mini Matildas. Cooney-Cross attended Ballarat High School as well as Surf Coast Secondary College in Torquay, Victoria before dropping out to pursue her dream of soccer.[2]
Cooney-Cross spent three years in Ballarat City between 2013 and 2016, playing under the tutelage of Ballarat City coach Tessa Curtain.[3]
In 2017, Cooney-Cross was signed by Melbourne Victory for the 2017-18 W-League season.[4] On 28 October 2017, she made her debut for the club in a 2–1 home win against Canberra United, playing the full 90 minutes in her first competitive league match.[5] On 29 December 2017, she scored her first ever goal for the club in a 3–1 home loss against Newcastle Jets, heading in at the 28th minute mark behind Jets goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom.[6] By the end of the season she played in Victory's all twelve games, scoring two goals. In the 2018–19 season, she was part of the W-League premier title winning squad, though she was only able to play in four of the twelve matches.[7]
Cooney-Cross moved to Western Sydney Wanderers for the 2019–20 season, where she scored in her debut, a free-kick at the 92nd minute mark of a 2–1 home win over Adelaide United.[8]
In December 2020, following one season at Western Sydney Wanderers, Cooney-Cross returned to Melbourne Victory.[9] On 11 April, Cooney-Cross scored directly from a corner kick in the 120th minute of extra time to win the 2021 W-League Grand Final, beating season premiers Sydney FC 0–1.[10] [11]
On 15 March 2022, Cooney-Cross transferred to Hammarby IF in the Swedish Damallsvenskan, signing a two-year contract.[12]
On 15 September 2023, Arsenal announced the signing of Cooney-Cross.[13] Ian Wright wanted Arsenal to recruit Cooney-Cross after her impressive performance in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, and asked Steph Catley to help convince Cooney-Cross to join the club.[14] On the 1 October 2023, the opening day of the 2023-24 season, Cooney-Cross made her first appearance for the club in a 0-1 loss to Liverpool.[15]
In August 2016, Cooney-Cross was part of the Australia U-17s who participated in the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualifiers, scoring six goals, the first four of which came against Palestine.[16] She was later named in the squad for the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship finals, where Australia was knocked out in the group stage, their only points coming from a 3–2 win against Bangladesh. Cooney-Cross scored in the 78th minute of the game to bring the scores level to 2–2, before Sofia Sakalis scored the winner in the 83rd minute, to help Australia finish third in the group.[17]
In October 2018, Cooney-Cross scored the first three of her six goals of the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualifiers.[18] On 4 June 2019, she was named as a standby player for the Australian squad participating in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[19] On 15 October 2019, she was named in the Australia U-20 squad participating in the 2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship.[20] She scored Australia's first goal of the tournament in a 5–1 opening match loss against North Korea, heading in at the 16th minute mark from an Indiah-Paige Riley cross.[21]
Cooney-Cross made her debut for the Australian women's national soccer team in a 3–2 friendly loss to Denmark on 10 June 2021.
Cooney-Cross was selected for the Matildas soccer team which qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Matildas advanced to the quarter-finals with one victory and a draw in the group play. In the quarter-finals they beat Great Britain 4–3 after extra time. However, they lost 1–0 to Sweden in the semi-final and were then beaten 4–3 in the bronze medal playoff by USA.[22]
Cooney-Cross was a part of the Australian team at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. She featured in the starting lineup of every match that Australia played, forming a midfield partnership with Katrina Gorry.
On 4 June 2024, Cooney-Cross was named in the Matildas team which qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics, her second Olympic games selection.[23] Later that year, she scored her debut goal for Australia during her 50th international game in a 1-2 win against Germany on 28 October in Duisburg, Germany.[24]
Cooney-Cross is well-known for her playful and cheeky personality, as well as her sense of humour, having been given the affectionate title of an "annoying little sister" by national team and Arsenal teammates Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord.[25]
She is also known for her friendships and close personal relationships with many of her teammates. For example, one of her closest friends is Matildas teammate Charlotte Grant, who plays for arch-rival club Tottenham Hotspur, and the two have attended each other's games despite the North London Derby being one of the fiercest sporting rivalries in the world.[25]
In 2024, Grant played in the 2024 Women's FA Cup final, where Tottenham were defeated 4–0 by Manchester United. Despite the North London Derby being one of the fiercest rivalries, Cooney-Cross attended the match to support Grant, a move which Grant herself described as "controversial" as Cooney-Cross plays for their arch-rivals Arsenal. In a photo uploaded to social media, she was pictured with a Tottenham Hotspur scarf on her shoulder.[25]
The incident led many Arsenal fans to criticise her online for wearing her rival club's merchandise, and she received some abuse from fans for the photo. However, Grant defended her in a post on Twitter, saying her friendship meant more than their rivalry. However, many fans still criticised her.[25]
Fans who criticised her were labelled as hypocrites by some, due to the fact that Arsenal fans themselves were actually supporting Tottenham's men's team in that week's Premier League match against Manchester City (where Manchester City won 2–0), since if Tottenham Hotspur had of defeated Manchester City, Arsenal would have won the 2023–24 Premier League.[25]
| Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Melbourne Victory FC | 2017–18 | W-League | 12 | 2 | — | — | — | 12 | 2 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 16 | 2 | — | — | — | 16 | 2 | ||||||
| Western Sydney Wanderers FC | 2019–20 | W-League | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | ||||
| Melbourne Victory FC | 2020–21 | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | 14 | 6 | |||||
| 2021–22 | A-League Women | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 28 | 7 | — | — | — | 28 | 7 | ||||||
| Hammarby IF | 2022 | Damallsvenskan | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | ||||
| 2023 | 18 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 30 | 1 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 35 | 1 | |||||
| Arsenal | 2023–24 | FA WSL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2024–25 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 109 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 129 | 14 | |||
Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cooney-Cross goal.
Melbourne Victory
Hammarby
Arsenal
Individual