By Ian Chadband
Hayley Raso may have struggled to find game time in England with the star-laden Manchester City, but she’s backing herself to shine in the green and gold.
There’s probably no player in the Matildas squad for their friendlies against Scotland on Friday night (AEST) and England on Wednesday morning (AEST) who’s as eager to see action as the potentially game-changing winger.
Hayley Raso has struggled to get game time in a Manchester City side that boasts more than a third of the England squad.Credit: Getty Images
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, Raso – capped 68 times for her country – remains a key attacking threat from the first whistle.
Raso’s impact will be especially valued against Scotland and England following the withdrawal of Arsenal forward Caitlin Foord, who suffered a hamstring injury in her last Women’s Super League outing against Raso’s City.
And while admitting that her lack of minutes on the pitch has been a frustration, 28-year-old Raso says it has not affected her confidence.
Asked whether she was ready to make an impact at a home World Cup, Raso told reporters: “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, [and] only missed a couple of games from that, but I’m training well, performing well when I’m on the pitch, [and] 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 hints that 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,” she said.
Australia play Scotland at Cherry Red Records Stadium in London on Friday, April 7 from 10.15pm (AEST). They play England at Brentford Community Stadium, also in London, on Wednesday, April 12 from 4.45am (AEST). Both games will be shown on Channel 10 and Paramount+.
AAP
