Women’s World Cup 2023: Courntey Nevin set to live World Cup dream of playing with her 2015 heroes

It was on a 2015 trip to Canada to watch the Matildas at the World Cup when Courtney Nevin decided that was what she wanted to do too. Now she is set to play alongside her heroes.

Courtney Nevin was 13 when she decided she wanted to be a Matilda while watching them play at the World Cup in Canada – now six years later she is set to step onto the field alongside many of the players who inspired her.

At the time Nevin was playing football for the New South Wales’ state team.

Thirteen players from the 2015 squad are part of this year’s World Cup team – including captain Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord, Hayley Rasso, Clare Polkinghorne, Mackenzie Arnold and Steph Catley.

“I went to a couple of games as a young girl,” Nevin said. “But I also travelled to Canada to watch the Women’s World Cup so that was a surreal moment and incredible experience.

“From that point on I really wanted to be a Matilda. It was the inspiration and starting point for me.”

Nevin’s mum Angelica said the trip awakened a fresh drive in her daughter.

Then just 13, Nevin was picked in a combined NSW, Canberra team that travelled to Canada to watch the Matildas and play games against other teams on tour.

“She got to have a meet and greet with the players and she’s got photos of her with these players that are attending that World Cup and now she is going to be one of the players,” Angelica said.

Courtney Nevin playing for Western Sydney Wanderers. Nevin is in the Matildas squad for the World Cup. Picture: AAP Image/Mark Evans

“When she saw all those crowds there supporting all of those players, the atmosphere and what they achieved just set her on the pathway of wanting to be Matilda.”

It wasn’t a dream Nevin achieved overnight.

“She’s just been one of those kids that likes all sports, she’s always been great with a ball,” Angelica said.

After ruling out wanting to play netball like her older sister Nevin settled on football, joining her first team as a five-year-old.

“She loved it and never looked back,” Angelica said.

“She picked up trophies instantly. She got the first female name on the trophy at Oakville Ravens and that was when we moved her to an under-9s girls team, after that she was picked up by Blacktown.

“It’s just been progressively moving along.

“She loves winning, she was their big goal scorer and she always just wanted the ball and wanted to get those goals.

“She was never one of those kids that threw a tantrum if she lost though, she just thought next time we’ll go again.”

There were lots of sacrifices along the way, like missing her formal.

“They do give up a lot. You see some of the girls drop off and don’t follow it anymore, some get injured and they can’t,” Angelica said.

Courtney Nevin playing for the Matildas against Portugal in a friendly International in 2022. Picture: Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

“But she just loves the game, she has always been driven and committed to playing football.”

After Blacktown she joined the Western Sydney Wanderers, first as a training partner, then as a contracted player.

When she was 15 Nevin fractured back and was forced to spend a lot of time on the bench.

Angelica said watching everyone else play the game she loved only motivated her more.

It was in her second season when people really started to take notice of Nevin.

She played every minute of the 13 games that season, including the semi-final against Melbourne City.

Nevin, a crafty defender, won 54 per cent of her tackles and hit her mark with a pass 74 per cent of the time.

Her efforts earned her the prestigious Wanderers Medal.

She transferred to Melbourne Victory for the 2021/22 season, starring in 15 matches and recording her first A-League Womens goal.

It was in 2021 that Nevin finally got to pull on her green and gold jersey, alongside her heroes – for a friendly against Denmark.

She now has 22 Caps including appearances at the Tokyo Olympics, where she played 20 minutes in the bronze medal match against the USA, and the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Angelica said she can still remember the feeling of her “heart beating out of her chest” when Nevin made the Matildas squad.

Courtney Nevin’s Matildas portrait ahead of the World Cup. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

A feeling she experienced all over again earlier this week when Nevin called her to tell her she had made the final 23-woman squad for the World Cup.

“It is just going to be a phenomenal thing for her to be a part of,” Angelica said.

Nevin said her experiences playing overseas first for Hammarby FC and then with Leicester, in the English Women’s Super League on loan from Hammarby, had helped prepare for the pressure of a home World Cup.

Nevin was signed to the struggling Leicester in January by coach Willie Kirk who wanted to bolster his squad after failing to record a win during the first nine games of the season.

“Playing (in England) you are obviously versing the best in the world,” Nevin said.

“So it’s a different kind of competition (to the W-League), it’s a longer season and you’re fighting to avoid relegation so it’s very different to the way it is set up.

“It was stressful, but we got there in the end.

“It taught me that every single game is a do or die moment.”

Originally published as Women’s World Cup 2023: Courntey Nevin set to live World Cup dream of playing with her 2015 heroes