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Things could not be going much better for Hayley Raso.
The winger has just scored her first two Women’s World Cup goals, the Matildas are into the round of 16 – and she’s off to Real Madrid when the tournament ends.
But Raso, who is fiery and physical on the field but a cool head off it, is taking it all in her stride.
“To score my first World Cup goal was really special for me, a moment I’ve dreamt of, so that was amazing,” Raso told reporters on Friday.
“But all my focus is here and getting the job done here, (although) I have a lot to look forward to when this is over.”
Raso joked that time would come “after August 20, of course” – the date of the World Cup final.
If the lightning-fast winger can maintain her current form at her third World Cup, there’s plenty of reason to believe.
The 28-year-old’s first-half double against Canada set Australia on the path to a thumping 4-0 win over the Olympic champions that steered them into Monday’s last-16 clash with Denmark at Stadium Australia.
It’s the latest step in a journey that began at Canberra United and has included stints at Portland, Everton and Manchester City, as well as overcoming a horror back injury in 2018 that threatened her playing future.
“I’ve been around for a long time, I’ve been in the national team for a long time,” the 28-year-old said.
“What comes with that is experience, maturity.
“I’ve been overseas, I’ve been developing my game. I’ve grown a lot as a player.
“I’m taking everything in my stride. I’ve got a lot of confidence.”
Raso doesn’t hold back physically, with or without the ball, but says she has tempered her approach since her Matildas debut in 2012.
“When I first got into football and was in the Matildas I was, I guess, quite reckless,” she said.
“I’ve matured a lot in my game, in the fact that I try not to be too reckless.
“Yes, I throw myself around into tackles but it’s just the way I play.
“It’s about giving 100 per cent and being strong. I’m small but I’m quite strong on the ball, so hopefully I can hold my own out there.”
Long-time teammate Alanna Kennedy shared a dressing room with Raso at WSL club Manchester City.
She isn’t surprised by how the winger has stepped up.
“The motivation of a home World Cup for anyone is that there’s just such a huge opportunity. No one wants to shy away from that, Hayley included,” Kennedy said.
“Her impact on the game (against Canada) was huge and I’m really happy for her.”
Mary Fowler of Australia (L) celebrating her goal with her teammates Ellie Carpenter (C) and Caitlin Foord of Australia (R) during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group B match between Canada and Australia at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on July 31, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Richard Callis/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
If Australia’s Women’s World Cup fate comes down to penalties, goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold is more than ready to handle the pressure.
And the Matildas custodian insists she won’t be affected by a crackdown on goalkeepers distracting penalty takers.
Arnold starred in a shootout against Thailand in the semi-finals of the 2018 Asian Cup and is confident she can repeat those heroics if required in Monday’s round-of-16 clash with Denmark or later in the tournament.
“I don’t feel much pressure with penalties, I feel quite comfortable,” Arnold said.
“I’ve been involved in a couple of penalty shootouts at a high level with the Asian Cup and thankfully successfully.
“Historically, we haven’t gone too well in penalties, luck hasn’t usually been on our side with that.
“But we’ve been practising and I’ve been talking with my coaches, just getting little things right for penalties. But we try not to … focus on that too much.
“The pressure at the time, it’s a real build-up. So when it comes, it come. But I feel quite confident with a penalty shootout.”
Rule tweaks came into play on July 1, underlining that goalkeepers cannot come off their line early and “must not behave in a way that unfairly distracts the kicker”.
Those stipulations might affect Argentina’s Emi Martinez or Socceroos stopper Andrew Redmayne, but not Arnold.
“I have never really come off my line like that, so it hasn’t really affected me too much,” she said.
“I have had a couple of conversations with my goalkeeper coach and (Matildas coach) Tony (Franken) as well just to narrow down little things and what would best suit my ability to cover most of the goal.”
Arnold has been open about her newfound confidence since starting to use hearing aids, apart from when playing and training.
“It’s hard for me to say if that has really had an impact on my confidence or my performance,” she said.
“I wasn’t too happy with my performance against Nigeria. I didn’t wear my hearing aids that whole day and I was thinking that maybe my brain wasn’t stimulated enough – I’m not sure.
“A lot of things I do tie back to my hearing now. I do feel a lot more confident within myself when I have them in and I feel like I’m a lot more alert and connected.
“Whether that has a connection with how I play or not, I’m not too sure, but I would like to think it does.”
The former captain of the Young Matildas scored twice last weekend.
The only difference was Sheridan Gallagher wasn’t lining up for Australia, she was playing in the NRLW.
While many of her former teammates are gearing up for the pressure and expectation of Monday’s World Cup round of 16 meeting with Denmark, Gallagher is adjusting to life with a ball in her hands rather than at her feet.
The 22-year-old signed with the Newcastle Knights’ NRLW side earlier this year after two seasons at the Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League Women.
“I’ve played with a lot of those girls and it makes me feel very honoured to be able to sit there and watch them achieve their goals,” Gallagher told AAP.
“I wasn’t surprised at all with the Canada result.
“I think they’re a world-class team and they’re good enough to beat teams like that.”
Gallagher has played with the likes of Mary Fowler and Clare Hunt, but harbours no regrets over her decision to switch codes just as women’s football looks set to explode.
She captained Australia at last year’s FIFA Women’s U20 World Cup before deciding she needed to take herself out of her comfort zone.
Moving between the two rugby codes and Aussies rules is common among female athletes, but swapping soccer for league?
“I wanted to challenge myself with the switch,” said Gallagher, whose Knights side face Parramatta on Sunday.
“I sort of sat there and thought I’d achieved a lot in soccer and I wanted to know what was else out there to achieve.
“I was a bit on autopilot in soccer. You do that for 17 years of your life and you go through the motions.
“Making the transition, I had to turn the brain back on and hone in on the skills.”
Gallagher has swapped the role of striker for that of a league winger and has already shown her potency for scoring with a double in last weekend’s loss to North Queensland.
She could well make the switch to the forwards in the future and says she hasn’t ruled out juggling both codes.
“I still think there’s still a lot more to achieve in soccer,” she added.
© AAP
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