Sam Kerr: Australian Matildas striker ‘very excited’ to be back in Perth after long haul London flight

World Cup superstar and Matildas captain Sam Kerr has arrived at a closed training session ahead of the team’s three-match spectacle of Olympic qualifiers and is “very excited” to be playing in her hometown.

A busload of soccer superstars arrived at a training ground in Perth’s southern suburbs on Tuesday morning before the Australian Matildas take on Iran at HBF Park on Thursday.

Speaking to media as the team walked toward their change rooms, Sam Kerr said it was “good” to be back in Perth.

“Good, good, good... I’m very excited,” she said.

Before making her way into the changerooms, Kerr was seen chatting with Perth Glory and Socceroos forward Adam Taggart — who was training at the same ground minutes earlier.

Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold and forward Mary Fowler were among the players who partook in their first day of training at the State Football Centre in Queens Park on Tuesday.

Ellie Carpenter, who had arrived a day earlier and trained on Monday, said she was enjoying the weather and the team were hoping to make the most of sunny conditions.

“Sam just arrived, so I haven’t really spoken to her too much, but she said we should get down to the beach maybe one day for recovery,” she said.

Carpenter also praised the brand new State Football Centre, which will officially be opened on Friday.

“The facilities are great. They’ve got everything you need and the gym and the pitch is great,” she said.

“It’s always nice to get back with the girls and get back into the environment and prepare for what’s to come and obviously we have a job to do so we need to qualify.”

It comes as the team tries to solidify their path to Paris 2024 gold ahead of the three Perth matches.

The qualifiers mark the first time Kerr has played in the green and gold and her hometown since 2018, when she took to HBF Park during Australia’s 5-0 win over Thailand.

Perth missed out on hosting Australia during the Women’s World Cup.

Chatting amongst one another, the players appeared focused on their training before they rushed behind closed doors on Tuesday.

After helping Chelsea to a 4-2 win over Brighton in the Women’s Super League on Sunday afternoon, Kerr boarded a plane from London and headed home to link up with her Matildas teammates.

The team will hold a closed training session on Tuesday with World Cup star Ellie Carpenter set to address the media.

The Matildas also play the Philippines on Sunday at Optus Stadium before returning to HBF Park to face Chinese Taipei.