My Journey to the World Cup: Updated Edition

by Sam Kerr

Follow Sam Kerr’s incredible journey from playing Aussie Rules as a kid to becoming one of the world’s greatest athletes, after the Matildas achieved their best-ever result at a World Cup.

Sam Kerr is widely considered to be one of the best female footballers of all time. She is famous worldwide for her skills on the soccer pitch – but before she was Matildas captain and leading goal scorer for Chelsea, she was just an average Aussie kid who wanted to play AFL.

This is her incredible football journey to the 2023 FIFA World Cup and beyond, from making the switch to soccer to becoming one of the best female strikers in the world. Sam gives us insights into what keeps her motivated, how she handles the pressures of life as a professional athlete and what she believes is really important in life. Inside you will
Sam’s most memorable World Cup moments facts about the 2023 FIFA World Cup everything you want to know about the Matildas amazing facts about Sam – her early days, family life, teams, playing for Chelsea and the Matildas.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Biography, Audiobook, Memoir, Soccer, Football

219 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 5, 2023

About the author

Sam Kerr is the captain of the Australia women’s national soccer team – the Matildas – and a leading goal scorer for Chelsea in the English FA Women’s Super League. She burst onto the W-League scene as a 15-year-old playing with Perth Glory. In 2016 she played for the Matildas at the Olympics in Brazil, and she was the top goal scorer in the 2017 Tournament of Nations. Since joining Chelsea in 2019, Sam has positioned herself as one of the best female strikers in the world. She was named 2018 Young Australian of the Year.

Reviews

[imogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

my (gay) womens soccer obsession continues

[Claire Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is definitely directed towards a younger audience but i love sam kerr so can’t complain. it was a very easy read and i learnt some interesting things about her journey to being one of the best female footballers in the world.

feel like there were some factual typos or errors which were annoying but overall it quenched my thirst for content before the World Cup

[Sophie Webb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been a big fan of Sam Kerr for just under a decade, and because of that I can nearly guarantee that Sam did not play a large role in writing or editing this book.

As many others have pointed out, this book is clearly intended for a younger audience which didn’t bother me. What did bother me, was the frequency of massive factual errors, some that didn’t even make sense:

The book states that Sam played in the 1998 OFC women’s championship, helping the Matildas to qualify for the 1999 women’s world cup hosted in the United States. I for one, would have loved to see this happen considering Sam was only 5 years old at the time.

Additionally, there were many other small errors such as claiming that Japan defeated the United States in the final to win the 2015 World Cup (The US pretty famously won that tournament), Referring to Yuki Nagasato as Yuki “Nagasako” (just a disrespectful error), and claiming that Kristine Lilly is the only woman to play in 5 world cups (I believe, prior to the commencement of the 2023 wwc, 18 players had played in 5 or more fifa world cups).

I think it is a bit of a red flag that there is a 3 page list of “credits” at the end of the book including many websites and articles containing information about or interviews with Sam. Maybe I should have looked closer before reading to lower expectations, but overall this book was not what I expected.

I still give it two stars because I love Sam Kerr and would read a cereal box if she was on it, but I wouldn’t really recommend this to anyone simply for the amount of misrepresented women’s soccer history.

[Charlotte Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this thinking it would delve into Sam’s background, past, childhood, early days playing football and into a personality/mentality. Whilst the book does cover that, it only provides a general overview. There are some interviews in the book which give some great insight to the type of player and person Sam is.

A good read, but feels like it is more catered to young teens and kids with some parts, which is perhaps a mistake on my part for not reading more of the book description.

[Caitlin Woodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m biased. i love this woman. i’m not the target audience but i applaud how motivating this book could be to young kids (which i assume is the aim)

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A shallow read, and full of typos. More typos than I think I’ve ever seen in a published book. In any case, because I am a dedicated homosexual sports fan, I read it in two short sittings.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

As other reviews say, clearly aimed at a younger audience, so it doesn’t get into the nitty gritty so much but it still has some great tidbits and insights that I wasn’t aware of.

It’s just a little sad reading it after the first two games of the group stage that Sam missed out on.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely aimed at a younger audience but was a very easy and enjoyable listen. Only 2.5 hours or 1 hour of you speed it up like I do 😅

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

**3.5 stars**

I’m not a great fan of non-fic but this was an interesting read. It did read very much as a junior bio more than an adult biography, and that was increased by the format which included a lot interviews, quotes, fun facts, a World Cup timetable (bit weird to publish in a book tbh) and a quiz at the end. All of this kind of overwhelmed the actual chapters, which was a bit of a shame. However, I did actually enjoy some of the facts and timelines because it was interesting to see the development of women’s sport in Australia.

But I’m in love with Sam Kerr so I guess I like soccer now!

[Brooke McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

i luv u sam kerr!

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars is generous given this contained SO MANY ERRORS (eg Sam apparently played in the 1999 OFC, at the age of 5. hm. also apparently Japan won the 2015 FIFA WWC (which was famously won by America). there are too many to list here)
I hope that one day we get an autobiography from Sam, because I think she's an incredible person and an insanely talented athlete, and I would love to hear her story in her own words.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything written by Sammy K automatically receives 5/5

[paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

love sam but this was pretty bad

[Libby Caldwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely disappointing.

I like Sam Kerr as much as the next person, if not more, but the cynical side of me sees right through this book

I’d be surprised if she’s even read this book herself, let alone written it. The writing style seems so forced and unnatural that it seems to be a pretty obvious ghost writer job.

Not to mention all the repetitive bits of filler and interviews with family with the most obvious, mind-numbing questions.

[Roch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I really enjoyed this quick listen, and learnt a lot about Sam’s achievements. After finishing it, I did a bit of research and found it contains many factual errors, some quite large. This is a huge disappointment on the legacy Sam has built, especially given this book is aimed at younger readers. I don’t know if she is aware this is out there listed as written by her, but I hope one day she writes a complete (and accurate) biography. I gave this two purely for her list of accolades which is so impressive.

[Nyssa]

It was interesting learning more about Sam, her early years and love of sport. While this book is likely targeted at a younger audience, it was a great read that keeps love of women’s football alive.

Due to the fact that I have an “updated edition”, I did find some typos and editing errors that made me feel as though it was a little rushed. However overall reading this book was a great way to spend my afternoon.

[Clare Doughty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great introductory book to football, particularly women’s football in Australia, and our girl Sammy. It was about a 1:1 ratio of paragraphs to pictures but overall enjoyable. It felt targeted at a slightly younger audience too.

[CoffeePaperYarn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this for my daughter who is loving it. Probably pitched at someone her age (12-13 years); loved the quotes the most!

[addi]

this book was so inspiring, even though i don’t play soccer.
i loved hearing about her story and how she started off playing footy, and ended with soccer

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this for personal project but it was super interesting and I love Sam Kerr 🙌🙌

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was disappointed to find out that not only is this a children’s book, Sam Kerr didn’t even write it. Very stat-heavy also. Sam babe, what do I have to do for a memoir.

[Jessie 🍉 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ i’m inlove with Sam Kerr

[Jess Brooker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite literally the worst book I’ve ever read. Clearly written for a young audience, however there were so many errors in this book… including mentioning that Sam played for Australia in 1998…. What when she was 5?!!!! Hahahha how can you even get this so wrong

So many spelling and grammar mistakes, random interviews that add absolutely no value, plus there are stats that are just repeated in every section…

I’m so confused at how this book was even published?

[Elly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah this is definitely aimed at young readers, which is so great I hope it inspires lots of young people especially women! But just wasn’t a great read for me but it was interesting to hear about Sam’s background and some interviews with other people!
Love a Ted lasso reference

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably give this book five stars if I was 12 years old, as I think this book would be great for any young athlete. Kerr has had a remarkable career and this book delves into her excellence and all that she has achieved, with tips on how young athletes can be successful.

[April Bradford]

Alright gays, I know why you’re here but this one isn’t really for us.

It’s more of a vague novella to inspire young girls to play and the publisher has played it very safe.

Not the queer soccer goss and background into Sam’s life that you’re probably hoping for

Quick enough that it’s worth checking out but as others mentioned, this one’s not really for us

[Mads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely written with a younger audience in mind, but I don’t care I loved it. I’m Team Matildas now and this was the perfect accompaniment to the documentary that I’m now devouring!

[Issy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im not going to lie, its a bit of a strange book.

The whole book was written in first person, but a ghost writer actually wrote it

It is also targeted towards adults yet it is clear that the ideal age to read would probs be 12-14. The ghost writer actually wrote Sams other books which are aimed at kids.

To fill up pages, the book also was full of random stuff like full page quotes, random tips on how to be good at soccer and bla, but no effort was put into it, so it was all a littler strange.

The story also didn't flow as there was interviews randomly placed throughout the book.

However, if you can look past all of that, it was a very calming book to read that didn't really need you to focus on it.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy read and super interesting to read just one week out from the Women's World Cup.

[aaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m just a girl🧍🏽‍♀️