•  Caitlin Foord and Katie McCabe soak up summer sun
  •  Arsenal players have been dating officially since May
  •  Had been linked romantically for around a year before

Matildas striker Caitlin Foord and her Irish football star girlfriend Katie McCabe were spotted frolicking on a Sydney beach on Tuesday after their World Cup love triangle stunned soccer fans last year.

The couple, who publicly announced their relationship in May, went for an early morning swim on the last day of the year at a beach in Sydney's south.

Photographers caught the pair, who have been teammates at Arsenal since 2020, smiling and soaking up the summer sun.


Dressed in skimpy bikinis, the sporting power couple showed off their athletic physiques during the intimate beach day.

Ireland captain McCabe is enjoying her time in Down Under with her Aussie partner and regularly posting images to social media of the couple enjoying the great outdoors.

They both travelled up to New South Wales' Hunter Valley last week to attend the wedding of Matildas star Emily Van Egmond and her partner Kat Thompson.

Matildas star Caitlin Foord (right) and Arsenal teammate Kate McCabe (left) were pictured at a Sydney beach on New Year's Eve

Matildas star Caitlin Foord (right) and Arsenal teammate Kate McCabe (left) were pictured at a Sydney beach on New Year's Eve

The sporting couple became an official item earlier in 2024 and have been teammates together at Arsenal since 2020

The sporting couple became an official item earlier in 2024 and have been teammates together at Arsenal since 2020

The couple were at the centre of a love triangle at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia

The couple were at the centre of a love triangle at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia

Rumours surrounding the Arsenal teammates being in a relationship had swirled ever since a fiery love triangle emerged at the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023.

The romance is rumoured to have started after McCabe broke off her long-term relationship with her international teammate Ruesha Littlejohn just before the World Cup.

That set tongues wagging that McCabe and Foord were an item, but they remained tight-lipped as the occasional image or video surfaced of them together.

Littlejohn made her feelings very well known, with her Irish teammates having to physically restrain her after she aggressively approached Foord at the end of their World Cup clash

When the players shared high fives, Littlejohn ignored Foord completely.

Foord had also recently became single after splitting from Swiss midfielder and Arsenal teammate Lia Walti, adding weight to the rumours.

Littlejohn and McCabe began seeing each other around 2016, with their first date taking place in St Albans. They went public with their relationship three years later.

'It started with football. She's a few years older than me,' McCabe said.

'I got to know her through football first and we became good friends. We began spending a lot more time together off the pitch and it kicked off from there.'

McCabe, the Ireland captain, is enjoying her time in Australia with Foord

McCabe, the Ireland captain, is enjoying her time in Australia with Foord

The couple showed off their athletic physiques as they went for a swim

The couple showed off their athletic physiques as they went for a swim

McCabe's ex-partner Ruesha Littlejohn (left) stunned soccer fans in this aggressive interaction with Foord (right) at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia last year

McCabe's ex-partner Ruesha Littlejohn (left) stunned soccer fans in this aggressive interaction with Foord (right) at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia last year

McCabe said that their shared love of football brought them together.

'We're both passionate about it, obviously our drive is to win trophies and qualify for championships with the Republic of Ireland,' she added. 'We're both very driven.

'Don't get me wrong, we've clashed heads a few times over certain games and training sessions but that's part and parcel of the game. We're very professional when we are playing football, that's our main focus.

'We can relax then when we get back home.'

Foord previously declined to comment on the spat and there is no suggestion she was involved in the breakdown of Littlejohn and McCabe's relationship.