Matildas Podcast | In conversation with ... Hayley Raso

The first Westfield Matildas podcast is here!

In our first episode, Hayley Raso joins us while she’s currently self-isolating in her Brisbane home.

The 25-year-old shares her journey from a teenager constantly overlooked for representative teams to now being one of the key members of Ante Milicic’s squad.

Listen to the first Westfield Matildas podcast in the player at the top of the page

Raso also reflects on the injury that almost cut short her football career and the unbelievable feeling of getting back on the pitch and playing at her first FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The former Brisbane Roar flyer also discusses the incredible rise of women’s football in Australia, her desire to create history with the Westfield Matildas and the prospect of a FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil.

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Podcast 1 - Hayley Raso

Here's what you can hear at the following time codes

1.25 – Why she’s still at home in Australia and not at Everton during the current COVID-19 pandemic
3.30 – How Everton have been since signing with the English Women’s Super League club
5.40 – The importance of being at home with family during this time
7.45 – The emergence of the Westfield Matildas’ Coffee-club culture
9.19 – How the move to Everton came about and the rise of European football
13.30 – Hayley’s connection with Tim Cahill
14.40 – An insane few weeks with the Westfield Matildas
15.51 – The players’ headspace while before the decision to shift the Olympic qualifiers from Wuhan to Sydney
18.00 – The incredible feeling of being back home for the Olympic qualifiers
20.09 – How the Westfield Matildas developed a ‘never-say-die’ mentality
22.36 – Being a part of the Olympic campaign for the first time
24.13 – Having to leave home to kick-start her football career as a teenager
27.02 – The day she scored a goal against one of her Westfield Matildas heroes…and teammate
28.12 – When her Westfield Matildas dream became something she believed she could achieve
30.05 – Where her tenacity and determination comes from
32.15 – How important her mum has been in shaping her to the person she is today
34.55 – The birth of the ribbon!
36.57 – The influence of Mark Parsons on her career
40.38 – Feeling the love of the Portland Thorns fans
41.57 – What playing in the NWSL has done for her as a player and a person
44.15 – Finding the right balance in life
45.12 – Studying to become a paramedic
46.20 – Reflecting on her serious back injury while playing in the NWSL
48.15 – What she learned from that experience and how it made her stronger
50.17 – The feeling of playing at her first World Cup in France in 2019
53.00 – Growing and maturing with this Westfield Matildas squad
53.55 – Desperate to create history with this Westfield Matildas group
57.06 – The incredible rise of women’s football in Australia
58.31 – The prospect of a potential World Cup on home soil in 2023
61.26 - Rapid fire Q&A

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