A US soccer player consoled Australia's top star after their bronze-medal match - and now they've gone public as a couple

• The US Women's National Team bested Australia in a 4-3 thriller to win bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
• USA's Kristie Mewis sat on the pitch and comforted Aussie star Sam Kerr after the final whistle.
• The two appear to be dating, based on photos from after the game and their Instagram interactions.

The US Women's National Team took bronze at the Tokyo Olympics Thursday, besting a respectable Australia team and leaving the Matildas without a spot on the podium.

After the final whistle blew to bring the 4-3 thriller to a close, many of the devastated Aussies stuck around on the field to mourn their loss. Superstar striker and Matildas captain Sam Kerr - who became Australia's all-time leading goal scorer with a 17th-minute equalizer - was among the most dejected out on the pitch.

Fortunately, there was someone ready to offer her a shoulder to cry on - but somewhat unusually, she was wearing different colors.

USWNT midfielder Kristie Mewis made her way over to comfort Kerr, following her team's heartbreaker. Fans already suspected that the pair of international soccer stars were dating based on their social media interactions, and photos from Thursday's bronze-medal match offer further evidence that Mewis and Kerr may be one of sports' newest power couples.

Mewis, who is 30 years old, only recently made her way back into the national team ranks after a six-year hiatus. Had the games been held in 2020, she likely wouldn't have been in the running for a spot on the roster. But with three USWNT goals and an assist under her belt heading into the final stretch before the Olympics, it began to appear as though the Houston Dash star might just punch her ticket to Tokyo.

Kerr's appearance at the games was never in doubt. The 27-year-old has long been considered one of the world's top soccer players, with Insider placing her fourth in its 2020 rankings of the world's 50 best stars. A lethal attacker, Kerr has become the all-time leading scorer in both her home country's W-League and America's National Women's Soccer League.

The Aussie has since taken on a new challenge in England's FA Women's Super League, where she's scored 21 goals in 22 appearances for Chelsea.

She and Mewis have exchanged many a flirtatious message in one another's Instagram comments. At the start of the Olympics, the American midfielder wrote "Glad to see you're committing to your new number" in a photo of Kerr and some Matildas teammates holding up peace signs. Kerr responded "committing to you more then 2 [sic]."

Despite Mewis and Kerr's rather public courtship, it was unclear whether their comments were made in jest. Neither has officially confirmed the status of their relationship, but a photo Kerr posted of the pair kissing offers a not-so-subtle hint that they are romantically involved in some capacity.

A post shared by Sam Kerr (@samanthakerr20)

Women's soccer fans were overwhelmingly supportive after seeing photos of the purported couple interacting in person. Many took to Twitter to express their excitement - and make some jokes at the expense of those who assumed they were just friends:

-Rach (@chel_00) August 5, 2021

-Gal Pal Sports (@GalPalSports) August 5, 2021

-Fiona (@figPYBFO) August 5, 2021

-Nope (@prefervoldemort) August 5, 2021