Ellie Carpenter’s reaction to Matildas penalty shootout win ‘says everything’

Ellie Carpenter’s face said it all.

The Matildas and the rest of Australia held their collective breath as Cortnee Vine walked up to the penalty spot and then erupted as she calmly dispatched the ball into the back of the net.

Vine’s shot sealed a thrilling 7-6 shootout win and sent Australia into the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time.

The shootout was a rollercoaster of emotions as the usually rock solid Steph Catley had her shot saved, Sam Kerr got redemption, Mackenzie Arnold hit the woodwork but managed to put the miss behind her to pull off countless clutch saves.

So when Vine sealed the thrilling win, the whole of Australia released a massive build up of tension and celebrated in style.

No one quite summed up the tense rollercoaster like Carpenter, who had every emotion written across her face as the Matildas sprinted off the centre line to mob Vine.

On the verge of tears, Carpenter hugged her teammates before quickly turning to Arnold and pointing at the goalkeeper in recognition that they couldn’t have won without her.

Just like fans around the country, Australia’s star right back was experiencing the full range of emotions all at once — relief, pride, jubilation and excitement.

Football journalist David Davutovic said on the ABC’s Offsiders program: “One of my favourite shots was a still just after Cortnee Vine put it away and you could see all the players racing to her.

“Ellie Carpenter had this contorted face, just this sheer look of delight and emotion. Just extraordinary scenes.”

Images of the Matildas sprinting to celebrate were reminiscent of John Aloisi’s 2005 penalty against Uruguay that sent the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup.

Carpenter was Australia’s youngest athlete at the Rio