Mackenzie Arnold

Mackenzie Elizabeth Arnold (born 25 February 1994) is an Australian professional soccer player. She plays as a goalkeeper for National Women's Soccer League club Portland Thorns FC, and for the Matildas, Australia's national women's team. She previously played for West Ham United in England's Women's Super League as well as Brisbane Roar, Perth Glory, Western Sydney Wanderers, and Canberra United in Australia's W-League and Arna-Bjørnar in Norway's Toppserien.

Early life
Arnold was born and raised on the Gold Coast. She played junior football for Burleigh Heads as well as Robina City and attended Palm Beach Currumbin State High School in her teenage years.

Canberra United
In 2012, Arnold joined Canberra United from Perth Glory ahead of the 2012–13 W-League.

Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Arnold joined Western Sydney Wanderers in 2013. However, she was later ruled out for a significant amount of the season after suffering a deep cut to the leg in the carpark following a match in the 2013 AFC U-19 Women's Championship.

Perth Glory FC
Arnold returned to Perth Glory in August 2014.

Arnold was approached to switch codes and play Australian rules football in the newly formed AFL Women's in 2016, but chose to remain in soccer.

Brisbane Roar FC
In October 2016, Brisbane Roar announced that they had signed Arnold.

Arna-Bjørnar
In March 2018, she signed with Arna-Bjørnar in the Toppserien.

Chicago Red Stars
In July 2019, she signed for the Chicago Red Stars, in the NWSL, but made no appearances.

West Ham United
On 9 July 2020, Arnold signed for English club West Ham United of the FA Women's Super League where she has been the teams captain since 2023. On 18 April 2021, Arnold was handed a surprise 20-minute cameo in midfield during an 11–0 win over Chichester & Selsey in the fourth round of the Women's FA Cup.

In May 2024, she was voted Women's Hammer of the Year by West Ham United supporters for the 2023–24 season.

Portland Thorns FC
On 10 July 2024, Portland Thorns FC announced that they had signed Arnold to a contract through the 2026 season with a mutual option for 2027.

International career
Arnold received her first call-up to the Australian national team for a tour of the United States in 2012. She made her debut in November that year, keeping a clean sheet in a win over Chinese Taipei in the 2013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup preliminary round 2. She soon began to feature regularly in national squads in 2013, with previous incumbent goalkeepers Melissa Barbieri and Lydia Williams unavailable. Following their returns, Arnold was not included in the national setup for some time, before returning for the 2015 Cyprus Cup in March 2015.

Mackenzie was included as one of three goalkeepers in the Matildas squad for the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

Arnold was selected in the Australia squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics as one of two goalkeepers in the squad along with Lydia Williams. She played one match in the tournament, a group stage win over Zimbabwe.

Arnold was named to the Matildas squad for the 2019 World Cup in France.

Arnold was a member of the Matildas Tokyo 2020 Olympics squad. The Matildas qualified for the quarter-finals and beat Great Britain before being eliminated in the semi-final with Sweden. In the playoff for the Bronze medal they were beaten by the USA.

Arnold is a member of the Matildas 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad, goalkeeping for all of Australia's Group B matches. She was named player of the match after saving three spot kicks in the quarter-final penalty shoot out to see the Matildas progress to the final four for the first time. This led to many internet memes praising her performance, with some online describing her as the "Brick Wall" and the "Minister for Defence". Other nicknames she has been given include "Macca" and "Kenz".

On 4 June 2024, Arnold was named in the Matildas team that qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, her third Olympic games selection.

Personal life
Arnold has been dating fellow West Ham player Kirsty Smith since 2022. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Arnold discovered she has significant hearing loss and she now wears hearing aids off the pitch. She is also a supporter of the Brisbane Broncos.

Honours
Australia
 * AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament: 2016

Individual
 * Perth Glory
 * W-League Premiership: 2014
 * Brisbane Roar
 * W-League Premiership: 2017–18
 * W-League Goalkeeper of the Year: 2012–13, 2014, 2017–18
 * West Ham United Player of the Year: 2023–24