Sam Kerr’s romance with US star to take a very awkward turn

The Matildas captain will lead Australia against Team USA in a friendly on Saturday afternoon and is going to square off against her girlfriend, American football star Kristie Mewis.

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Rumours first emerged the pair were dating when they were snapped embracing after the bronze medal match at this year’s Tokyo Olympics, and they soon went public with their love life on social media.

In August, Mewis posted a photo of her and Kerr sharing a passionate poolside kiss — leading fellow footballers to comment approvingly.

Days later, Kerr shared a picture of a polaroid snap of Mewis sitting on her lap as they kissed, tagging her new girlfriend in the photo along with a red love heart emoji.

But niceties will be put aside in Saturday’s friendly, which sees the US play Down Under for the first time in 21 years.

Kerr has been in sparkling form for English club side Chelsea recently, scoring a hat-trick for the Blues earlier this week in a 5-0 demolition of Birmingham — netting all three goals inside the first half.

Chelsea coach Emma Hayes hailed Kerr as “one of the best strikers, if not the best striker, in the world”.

“Watching her develop in the last 18 months has been amazing,” Hayes said.

“There were lots of people who wondered how she would cope playing in European football. Not only has she adapted to that, but she’s excelled.”

Then on Tuesday, the 28-year-old was one of four Chelsea players nominated for the Best FIFA Women’s Player award. The three finalists in each category will be revealed in early January before the official crowning later that month.

Midfielder Mewis is one of 10 players in the 22-woman USA squad who featured in the win over Australia to claim bronze in Tokyo. The visitors also have plenty of youth, bringing along 12 players with less than 10 international appearances for the ride.

Arguably the biggest name in American football, Megan Rapinoe, did not make the trip Down Under.

Kerr spent years plying her trade in America before making the move to England and USA coach Vlatko Andonovski knows shutting the goal-scoring machine down will be crucial to his side’s chances in Sydney on Saturday.

“Sam Kerr is definitely one of the best players, one of the best strikers in the world and this is not a case in recent past, it’s been the case for years now,” Andonovski said.

“She’s an incredible player. I’d like to say that ‘if we do this, we’ll stop Sam Kerr’ but it just doesn’t work like that.

“She’s so dynamic and so unpredictable that no matter what you do, she always figures out a way to make it tougher. At the same time, that’s what we want. We want to play against the best.”

Kick-off between the Matildas and USA is scheduled for 3pm AEDT. You can watch the game on Channel 10, 10Play and Paramount +.

Originally published as Sam Kerr’s romance with US star to take a very awkward turn