Hayley Raso, who sealed Australia’s next place with her goals, did not follow football when she was young. He hopes to inspire new people to the sport.
Australia defeated Canada in the final round of the group stage 4–0 and rose from third place in Group B to the top and into the playoffs. The work of New Zealand, the other host country of the World Cup, came to an end on Sunday, when it narrowly finished third in Group A.
Canada finished third in Group B and was eliminated from the playoffs, while Nigeria took second place in the group by a point.
Paced for Australia’s victory in front of a ecstatic home crowd in Melbourne, the winger who scored the first two goals scored Hayley Raso28, who has come a long way to the domestic limelight.
Five years ago, Raso was lying in a US hospital with a broken back, unable to turn his side, let alone walk. Raso, who played for the Portland Thorns, was seriously injured in an NWSL league match in August 2018 when he was kneed in the back by an opponent.
Before the 2019 Women’s World Cup, Raso had become one of the key players in the Australian national team after playing strongly in her club team. Now the World Cup dreams were at stake.
– It was really traumatic, both psychologically and physically. When I was in the hospital, I remember thinking that I will probably never make it to the World Cup or even play football again, Raso recalled.
Learned to walk
Raso spent weeks in the hospital, after which months of rehabilitation lay ahead.
– I couldn’t really do anything, and I had to learn step by step how to walk, for example. Eventually I started enjoying things again and knew I had to get playing.
Six months after the accident, Raso returned to the national team in a match against New Zealand and immediately succeeded in scoring. Raso almost made it to the World Championships in France. He was involved in all four matches for Australia, two of them as a player in the starting line-up.
– When I ran and played for the first time, it was an overwhelming and exciting feeling after everything I’ve been through. I experienced a lot of setbacks and was told I couldn’t do this. You just have to show that you can and work hard. If you have a dream, you can achieve it, Raso said.
After the injury, Raso has played at a new level. He currently represents Real Madrid after first playing for Everton and Manchester City.
The World Cup was not a part of childhood
Home games are the dream of many football juniors, but Raso was not one of them. He followed the sport very little when he was young and only started playing because his brother played too.
– I didn’t know much or wasn’t very interested in football. I never really watched the World Cup on TV. It wasn’t until I got to the national team that I thought this is cool and I could follow this. So I only started following football when I was at the heart of it, said Raso, who made his debut in the national team in 2012.
The top Australian hopes to inspire future generations of Australians to discover football.
– The sport has grown so much. So many more people follow it now and know who we are. I hope that people who are not necessarily interested in football would get excited and maybe fall in love with the sport when the games are held in Australia.