Caitlin Foord scores four for Arsenal but can't get Ballon d'Or nomination as Aussies snubbed
Caitlin Foord was the toast of women's football on Thursday morning, but her four-goal heroics for Arsenal came at the same time Aussies were completely snubbed in the 2024 Ballon d'Or nominations.
Not a single Australian player made it onto either the men's or women's list of 30 nominees for the sport's highest individual honour.
While the men's wasn't overly surprising from an Australian point of view, the snub for the women's award is perhaps a grim fallout from the Matildas' dismal Olympics campaign.
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The team failed to get out of the group stage, leading to coach Tony Gustavsson being let go the day after their Games finished.
Last year superstar striker Sam Kerr finished runner-up in the women's Ballon d'Or, while Matildas teammate Hayley Raso was nominated and finished 17th in the voting.
Twelve months on and the list has a distinct dearth of Aussie players.
Arsenal's Caitlin Foord celebrates scoring her fourth goal of the game. AP
That's despite a number of Australian players joining big European clubs following last year's FIFA World Cup at which the Aussies finished just off the podium.
Kerr is indisputably the best Australia has to offer but she's been sidelined with a serious knee injury for the entire year, ruining any hope she had of going one better in the Ballon d'Or voting.
Aussie favourites abroad: Where every Matildas star plays their regular club football
Aussie favourites abroad: Where every Matildas star plays their regular club football
But Foord is a superstar in her own right, and proved so again when putting four past Rangers in the women's Champions League on Thursday.
Her bag included a stunning volley following a teammate's perfect long ball into the box.
"Maybe (I scored four goals) when I was younger," the Illawarra product told Sky Sports after the game.
"But no, that's my first hat-trick here in Arsenal colours. To get four, it's even better."
