My Westfield Matildas Story: Hayley Raso - 'I didn't know World Cups and Olympics were for women'

Hayley Raso’s injury troubles have been well documented over the past year but the Westfield Matildas forward has been driven by more than just overcoming the broken back that threatened her career. 

In a series of exclusive interviews for www.matildas.com.au, we will be catching up with Ante Milicic's 23-player squad in the build-up to the World Cup. Today we hear from Hayley Raso.

Named in the squad to travel to Canada for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Raso could not help but be left a little deflated when she did not get on the pitch during the tournament.

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How to watch the FIFA Women's World Cup


But showing similar determination to that which saw her return to action just months after that career-threatening injury, the 24-year-old used the disappointment to fuel her emergence as one of Australia’s greatest attacking threats.

“I really want to be a part of this World Cup squad,” Raso told matildas.com.au.

“I want to play major minutes at this tournament. Being at the last World Cup and not playing has really pushed me.

WATCH: Hayley Raso scores in her comeback match against New Zealand earlier this year

“When I was growing up I don’t think I knew how big women’s football was, and that there were World Cups and Olympics that we could participate in.

WATCH: Tears flow as Hayley Raso makes Mother's Day

“But once I made my debut for the Matildas and knew what level I could achieve I definitely wanted to be at those major tournaments.”

Watch the full video at the top of this page.

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This article was originally published on the CommBank Matildas website.
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