Emily Gielnik

Emily Gielnik ( ; born 13 May 1992) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Pumas UNAM and the Australia women's national team. She previously played for Aston Villa in England, Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory in her native Australia, Liverpool in England, Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan, Avaldsnes IL in Norway, Bayern Munich in Germany, Vittsjö GIK in Sweden, and Monterrey in Mexico.

Early life Gielnik was born on 13 May 1992 in Melbourne, Victoria. She is of Croatian descent.

Club career Brisbane Roar, 2009–2018 Born in Melbourne, Gielnik moved to Queensland at the age of seven. After stopping basketball due to injuries she took up soccer and was eventually signed by Brisbane Roar for the second season of the W–League. Gielnik played eight seasons at Brisbane, appearing in 83 games and scoring 30 goals. She won the W-League Championship in 2010–11 and the Premiership in 2012–13 and 2017–18.

Liverpool LFC and Ottawa Fury, 2012–2013 In May 2012, Gielnik signed for English club Liverpool L.F.C., during the 2012 FA WSL season. In October 2012, she was one of ten players to be released by Liverpool's new manager Matt Beard. In 2013, Gielnik joined Ottawa Fury for their W-League season.

Urawa Red Diamonds, 2016 After the 2016 Olympics, Gielnik joined Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds.

Avaldsnes IL, 2017 Gielnik joined Norwegian team Avaldsnes IL for the 2017 season. She had a breakout season with the team, scoring eight goals in league play. Avaldsnes finished second in the Toppserien and won the Norwegian Cup.

Melbourne Victory, 2018–2019 Gielnik signed with Melbourne Victory for the 2018–19 W-League season.

Bayern Munich, 2019–2020 On 23 August 2019, Gielnik joined German Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. In July 2020, she left the club after making only 6 appearances, partially due to injury.

Vittsjö, 2020 A week after leaving Bayern Munich, Gielnik signed with another European club, joining Swedish club Vittsjö.

Brisbane Roar, 2020–2021 In November 2020, Gielnik returned to Australia, signing with her hometown club, Brisbane Roar.

Aston Villa, 2021–2023 In 2021, Gielnik joined the Women's Super League side Aston Villa and left in 2023 at the expiry of her contract.

Melbourne Victory, 2023–2025

In September 2023, Gielnik returned to Australia re-joining Melbourne Victory.

Monterrey, 2025–2026 In July 2025, Gielnik joined Liga MX Femenil club Monterrey. She made her debut in their opening Apertura game of the 2025–26 season on 13 July 2025 in a 4–0 defeat away to UNAM Pumas.

Pumas UNAM, 2026– In June 2026, Gielnik joined fellow Liga MX Femenil club Pumas UNAM.

International career Gielnik scored a hat-trick on her international debut for Australia U-19s in October 2011. She made her first appearance for the senior Matildas team in a 3–0 friendly defeat to World champions Japan in Tokyo on 11 July 2012.

Gielnik was named to the Australian squad for 2016 Olympic Qualifying, she scored a goal against Vietnam. Australia won the tournament and qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Gielnik was part of the Matildas squad that won the 2017 Tournament of Nations and defeated the United States for the first time ever.

At the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Gielnik appeared in three matches for Australia. The Matildas advanced to the final, but lost to Japan 1–0. Australia qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

In May 2019, Gielnik was named to her first World Cup team. At the World Cup Gielnik appeared in three matches for Australia, starting two of them. In the Round of 16 against Norway, she entered the match as a second-half substitute replacing Hayley Raso. With the match tied 1–1 after extra-time, the game went to penalties. Gielnik was the second penalty taker for Australia, she had her penalty saved. Australia lost to Norway 4–1 on penalties and were eliminated from the World Cup.

Gielnik was selected for the Australian women's football Matildas soccer team which qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Matildas advanced to the quarter-finals with one victory and a draw in the group play. In the quarter-finals they beat Great Britain 4-3 after extra time. However, they lost 1–0 to Sweden in the semi-final and were then beaten 4–3 in the bronze medal playoff by USA. Full details.

Career statistics

International goals

GoalDateLocationOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1 2 March 2016 Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan 1–0 9–0 2016 Olympics qualifying 2 3 March 2017 VRS António Sports Complex, Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal 1–0 3–2 2017 Algarve Cup 3 2–0 4 6 March 2017 Albufeira Municipal Stadium, Albufeira, Portugal 1–1 2–1 2017 Algarve Cup 5 13 November 2018 McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, Australia 4–0 5–0 Friendly 6 28 February 2019 Leichhardt Oval, Sydney, Australia 1–0 2–0 2019 Cup of Nations 7 3 March 2019 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia 4–1 4–1 2019 Cup of Nations 8 12 November 2019 Coopers Stadium, Adelaide, Australia 1–0 1–0 Friendly 9 10 April 2021 Brita-Arena, Wiesbaden, Germany 4–1 5-2 Friendly 10 5–2 11 5 August 2021 Kashima Stadium, Kashima, Japan 3–4 3–4 2020 Summer Olympics 12 7 December 2024 Kardinia Park, Geelong, Australia 3–0 6–0 Friendly 13 26 June 2025 HBF Park, Perth, Australia 1–0 3–0 Friendly

Honours Club Brisbane Roar W-League Championship: 2010–11

Avaldsnes IL Norwegian Cup: 2017

Melbourne Victory W-League Premiership: 2018–19

International Australia AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament: 2016 Tournament of Nations: 2017 FFA Cup of Nations: 2019

Individual

W-League Golden Boot: 2020−21

Personal life Gielnik married her partner Temica Sayer in 2024.