Mackenzie Elizabeth Arnold (born 25 February 1994), also known by her nickname Macca, is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for National Women's Soccer League club Portland Thorns FC and the Australia national 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 Mackenzie Arnold was born to Steve and Leah Arnold and raised with an older sibling on the Gold Coast. Her sibling is profoundly deaf and wore hearing aids since being a toddler. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Arnold acknowledged that she also has significant hearing loss and subsequently wears hearing aids off the pitch. In 2023, she partnered with Audika, a hearing clinic and service provider in Australia, to tackle the stigma of hearing loss.

Arnold played junior football for Burleigh Heads as well as Robina City and attended St Andrews Lutheran College for primary school, Palm Beach Currumbin State High School for secondary and completed a Certificate 4 in Fitness at Gold Coast TAFE (2013–2015).>

Club career

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 was appointed the team's captain in 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, an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, 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. Arnold 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.

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

She was selected in the Australia squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics as one of two goalkeepers in the squad along with Lydia Williams, and 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".

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

Arnold was part of the Matildas squad which finished as runners-up at the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup following a 1–0 loss to Japan in the tournament's final on 21 March 2026.

Personal life Arnold dated Scottish footballer Kirsty Smith between 2022 and 2024 while they both played for West Ham.

Arnold supports the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsPerth Glory2011–12W-League100——100Canberra United2012–13100——100Western Sydney Wanderers2013–1430——30Perth Glory2014–15140——1402015–1680——80Total220——220 Brisbane Roar2016–17W-League110——1102017–18130——1302018–19120——1202019–20120——120Total480——480Arna-Bjørnar2018Toppserien15000—150Chicago Red Stars2019NWSL00——00 West Ham United2020–21 Women's Super League16020302102021–2218030002102022–2320020502702023–241900000190Total7307080800Portland Thorns2024NWSL50——502025210——210202620——20Total280——280Career total197070802120

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAustralia20122020130020140020154020164020174020187020192020201020213020222020231502024120202540202660Total670

Honours Australia AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament: 2016 FIFA Series: 2026

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

Bibliography

Arnold and sports writer Emma Kemp published Arnold's autobiography, titled Macca, on 8 October 2024.

See also List of Perth Glory FC W-League players List of Western Sydney Wanderers Women players List of foreign FA Women's Super League players

Notes

References

Further reading Grainey, Timothy (2012), Beyond Bend It Like Beckham: The Global Phenomenon of Women's Soccer, University of Nebraska Press, Stay, Shane (2019), The Women's World Cup 2019 Book: Everything You Need to Know About the Soccer World Cup, Books on Demand, Theivam, Keiran and Jeff Kassouf (2019), The Making of the Women's World Cup: Defining stories from a sport’s coming of age, Little, Various (2019), Stand Up for the Future, Penguin Random House, Williams, Jean (2007), A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football, A&C Black, Williams, Lydia (2019), Saved!, Allen & Unwin,

External links