Hayley Raso may have struggled to find game time in England at star-laden Manchester City but she’s still backing herself to glitter in the green-and-gold when it matters.
There’s probably no player in the Matildas squad preparing for matches in London against Scotland on Friday and England next Tuesday who’s as eager to see action in these key pre-World Cup contests as this potentially game-changing winger.
At a club packed with international talent, Raso, like teammate Mary Fowler, has found herself largely a bit-part player for much of the season, making only one start for City in the Women’s Super League, while making 10 appearances as an impact sub.
With Australia, though, as she demonstrated by running the Spanish defence ragged in the Nations Cup triumph in February, the 68-time capped Raso remains a key attacking threat from the first whistle.
And while admitting that her lack of minutes on the pitch has been a frustration, the 28-year-old reckons it has not affected her confidence in herself to deliver.
Asked whether she was ready to make an impact at a home World Cup with the big show looming ever closer, Raso told reporters on Wednesday: “Absolutely. I feel like I am ready to go.
“I feel like when the World Cup comes around, we’ll all be ready to go and firing. I hope to be a big player for the team at the World Cup.
“I feel like I’m in a really high training environment (at Manchester City). I broke my hand recently, only missed a couple of games from that, but I’m training well, performing well when I’m on the pitch, definitely ready to go.
“So, frustrating as it is in club football, not getting as many playing minutes as I’d like, I feel that when I come over to my national team, I’m getting a lot of minutes and doing well.
“As soon as I put this shirt on to represent my country, I am in good form and ready to go.
“I am a confidence player, I feel like I’ve been performing well in our recent games, keeping my training level high every single day. It’s nice to have (the ability) where I am able to come on and do something or turn a game around.”
Tony Gustavsson’s side, now riding high in the world’s top-10, are hoping to stretch their seven-game winning streak at AFC Wimbledon’s stadium on Friday against the No.24-ranked Scots, who will be looking for a spark from Raso’s old City teammate Caroline Weir, now starring in attack for Real Madrid.
“I was actually speaking about her with few of the girls earlier and I was saying she’s one of the best players I’ve ever trained with,” Raso said of Weir.
“She’s an amazing footballer, technically so good. So it’d be really good to have this tough game and to get to play against her.”
Talking of the “ebbs and flows” of the Matildas’ journey under Gustavsson, she made it sound as if Australia are peaking just right for July.
“It’s really good to be coming into form at this point in time because we have the World Cup right around the corner.”