 Cooney-Cross in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kyra Lillee Cooney-Cross | ||
| Date of birth | (2002-02-15)15 February 2002 (age 24) | ||
| Place of birth | Herston, Queensland, Australia | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1][2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Arsenal | ||
| Number | 32 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Bli Bli United | |||
| 2013–2016 | Ballarat City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | Senior NTC | 30 | (20) |
| 2017–2019 | Melbourne Victory | 16 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 13 | (4) |
| 2020–2022 | Melbourne Victory | 28 | (7) |
| 2022–2023 | Hammarby IF | 30 | (1) |
| 2023– | Arsenal | 39 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016–2017 | Australia U-17 | 14 | (14) |
| 2018–2022 | Australia U-20 | 8 | (7) |
| 2021– | Australia | 63 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 December 2025 | |||
Kyra Lillee Cooney-Cross (/ˈkaɪrə/KYE-rə; born 15 February 2002) is an Australian professionalsoccer player who plays as amidfielder forWomen's Super League clubArsenal and theAustralia women's national team. She has previously played forHammarby IF in theDamallsvenskan, as well asWestern Sydney Wanderers andMelbourne Victory in theW-League.
Kyra Lillee Cooney-Cross[3] was born on 15 February 2002[1] to Jessica Cooney and Jai Cross inHerston,Queensland,[4] and grew up with three siblings.[5][6] Their father, Cross, who works as a tiler,[4] played soccer at semi-pro level in Queensland withSunshine Coast and encouraged Cooney-Cross in that sport.[6] After her parents separated,[7] Cooney-Cross, at eight-years-old, relocated toAlice Springs with her mother and siblings, for three years before moving toBallarat.[4][7][8]
Usually playing with older girls and boys, at the age of 13, she started atFFV NTC (Football Federation Victoria National Training Centre) inMelbourne, and a year later trialled for theJunior Matildas.[6][9] In July 2016 Cooney-Cross was a member of Victoria's Under-15 girls soccer team at the National Youth Championships for Girls, which won the tournament contested by seven other state/regional teams.[10]
She later enrolled in the Future Matildas programme (for Junior Matildas) based inSydney, New South Wales.[7][8][11] By age 17, Cooney-Cross had attended six different schools includingBallarat High School and then to Surf Coast Secondary College,Torquay, Victoria for two years.[12][13][14] Her mother and siblings remained in Torquay and, while in Sydney, she attendedWestfields Sports High School for her final years of secondary education, alongside fellow Junior Matilda,Courtney Nevin.[7][8] After living with two foster families, she moved in with the Nevin family.[8]
As a youth, Cooney-Cross spent three years withBallarat City between 2013 and 2016, playing under their coach Tessa Curtain.[15] She also played for an FFV NTC side, Senior NTC/FV Emerging, in theNPLW Victoria in 2016 and 2017.[16] In the latter season she won NPLW Victoria Player's Player of the Year.[17]
In 2017, Cooney-Cross was signed byMelbourne Victory for the2017-18 W-League season.[18] On 28 October 2017, she made her debut for the club in a 2–1 home win againstCanberra United, playing the full 90 minutes in her first competitive league match.[19] On 29 December 2017, she scored her maiden goal for the club in a 3–1 home loss againstNewcastle Jets, heading in at the 28th minute mark behind Jets goalkeeperBritt Eckerstrom.[20] By the end of the season she played in Victory's all twelve games, scoring two goals.[9] Primarily playing as a forward, she was nominated forYoung Player of the Year.[21] In the2018–19 season, she was part of the W-League premier title-winning squad, although only playing in four of twelve matches.[9] Despite this, Cooney-Cross was unhappy: unable to improve herself as a player due to reduced game time.[12]
Cooney-Cross moved toWestern Sydney Wanderers as a midfielder for the2019–20 season, where she scored in her debut, a free-kick at the 92nd minute mark of a 2–1 home win over Adelaide United.[22]
In December 2020, following one season at Western Sydney Wanderers, Cooney-Cross returned to Melbourne Victory.[23] On 11 April 2021, she scored directly from acorner kick in the120th minute ofextra time to win the2021 W-League Grand Final, beating season premiersSydney FC 0–1.[24][25]
At that year'sW-League Awards she won Young Footballer of the Year.[26]
On 15 March 2022, Cooney-Cross and Nevin both transferred toHammarby IF in the SwedishDamallsvenskan, signing a two-year contract.[27][28] While at Hammarby, she made 30 appearances and scored one goal.[1]
On 15 September 2023,Arsenal announced signing Cooney-Cross for a transfer ofAU$272,000.[6][29]Ian Wright had wanted Arsenal to recruit Cooney-Cross after her impressive performance in the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup,[4] and asked fellow Matilda and Arsenal player,Steph Catley to convince Cooney-Cross to join her at the club.[30] Before accepting Arsenal, Cooney-Croos considered bids fromChelsea andTottenham.[4] On 1 October 2023, the opening day of the2023-24 season, Cooney-Cross made her first appearance for Arsenal in a 0–1 loss toLiverpool.[31] During the2024–2025 pre-season Cooney-Cross kicked her first goal for Arsenal in a friendly 0–3 win againstSouthampton.[32] The mid-fielder scored a goal for her club in the quarter-finals of the2024–25 Women's League Cup in their 0–4 victory againstBrighton & Hove Albion in January 2025.[33][34]
In August 2016, Cooney-Cross was part of theAustralia U-17s (Junior Matildas) who participated in the2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualifiers, scoring six goals, the first four of which came against Palestine.[35] She was later named in the squad for the2017 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 againstBangladesh. Cooney-Cross scored in the 78th minute of the game to bring the scores level to 2–2, beforeSofia Sakalis scored the winner in the 83rd minute, to help Australia finish third in the group.[36]
In October 2018, Cooney-Cross, as a member ofAustralia women's national under-20 soccer team (Young Matildas), scored the first three of her six goals of the2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship qualifiers.[37] On 4 June 2019, she was named as a standby player for the Australian senior squad (Matildas) participating in the2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[38] On 15 October 2019, she was named in the Australia U-20 squad participating in the2019 AFC U-19 Women's Championship.[39] She scored Australia's first goal of the tournament in a 5–1 opening match loss againstNorth Korea, heading in at the 16th minute mark from anIndiah-Paige Riley cross.[40]
Cooney-Cross made her debut for theAustralian women's national soccer team (Matildas) in a 3–2 friendly loss to Denmark on 10 June 2021. The midfielder was selected for the senior Matildas team, which qualified for theTokyo 2020 Olympics (postponed to 2021). The team advanced to the quarter-finals with one victory and a draw in the group play. In the quarter-finals they beatGreat Britain 4–3 after extra time. However, they lost 1–0 toSweden in a semi-final and were then beaten 4–3 in the bronze medal playoff by USA.[41]
Cooney-Cross was a part of the Australian team at the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. She featured in the starting lineup of all seven matches that Australia played, forming a midfield partnership withKatrina Gorry. On 4 June 2024, Cooney-Cross was named in the Matildas team which qualified for theParis 2024 Olympics, her second Olympic games selection.[42] Later that year, she scored her debut goal for Australia during her 50th international game in a 1–2 win againstGermany on 28 October inDuisburg, Germany.[43] Cooney-Cross's strike wonFootball Australia's Goal of the Year (2024).[44] In November 2025 that goal was one of eleven nominees forFIFA Marta Award (Goal of the Year).[45] The midfielder kicked a similar long-shot goal in a 5–0 friendly win againstNew Zealand (Football Ferns) in November 2025.[46] Football Australia awarded it Goal of the Year (2025).[47]
Cooney-Cross was given the affectionate title of an "annoying little sister" by national team and Arsenal teammatesSteph Catley andCaitlin Foord because of her cheeky personality.[48] She is close friends with two other Matildas teammates,Charli Grant[49] andKatrina Gorry.[50]
In early January 2026, she returned to Australia after learning of her mother's diagnosis ofcholangiocarcinoma (stage 4) – a rare, aggressive and incurable cancer of thebile duct.[51][52] Cooney-Cross was unavailable for Arsenal's return to WSL duties after their mid-season break,[52] but returned as an unused substitute in late January for their victory againstAS FAR in their2026 FIFA Women's Champions Cup semifinal.[53][54]
| Club | 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | ||
| Western Sydney Wanderers FC | 2019–20 | W-League | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | |||
| Melbourne Victory FC | 2020–21 | W-League | 14 | 6 | — | — | — | 14 | 6 | |||
| 2021–22 | A-League Women | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | ||
| Hammarby IF | 2022 | Damallsvenskan | 12 | 1 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| 2023 | 18 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 | ||
| Arsenal | 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 2024–25 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2025–26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 39 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 71 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 126 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 163 | 15 | ||
| No. | Cap | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 50 | 28 October 2024 | Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena,Duisburg, Germany |  Germany | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | [43] |
| 2. | 62 | 28 November 2025 | polytec Stadium,Gosford, Australia |  New Zealand | 4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly | [46] |
Melbourne Victory
Hammarby
Arsenal
Individual
Australia squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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