Matildas player Hayley Raso shares her battles both on the field and in hospital

She was one of the star’s of the Matildas’ World Cup surge but it hasn’t always been smoooth sailing.

Hayley Raso of Australia is challenged by Lauren of Brazil during the International Friendly match between the Matildas and Brazil at Cbus Super Stadium on December 01, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Brutally body-slammed into the turf by a Brazilian, she dusts off her knees before exacting her revenge – a goal that nearly tears the net into her trademark ribbons.

There’s resilience and then there is Hayley Raso.

Sweet and softly spoken off-field, the 30-year-old Gold Coaster transforms into a world-class warrior as soon as she steps foot on the pitch.

But don’t let her quiet manner or pretty ribbons fool you, Raso is the epitome of a fighter – whether that’s on the field, on the world stage as a champion for women in sport, or in a hospital bed battling for her own life.

If anyone has learned the hard way that life, like soccer, never guarantees a free kick, it’s Raso.

As part of the trailblazing Matilda’s team that won the heart of the nation on its way to the 2023 Women’s World Cup semi-finals, fans could be forgiven for not knowing Raso’s own incredible backstory.

Hayley Raso of Australia celebrates after scoring the teams first goal during the International Friendly match between the Matildas and Brazil at Cbus Super Stadium on December 01, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

It was just six years ago that she broke her back in a horrific on-field collision.

Lying on the field in Portland, Oregon, where she played in the US National Women’s Soccer League, Raso could not feel her legs and couldn’t move, but she could feel excruciating pain in her back.

Scans showed she had shattered three vertebrae, with doctors unsure whether she would walk again, let alone play soccer.

Yet only six months later, after gruelling rehab, she made a triumphant return to the pitch for the Matildas in the Cup of Nations and, just like last Sunday, scored a goal.

That’s more than resilience.

“That was obviously the lowest point in my career and I think in my life in general. It was really tough and it was a really hard time for me,” she said at the time.

“I was in hospital for a month and then I rehabbed for six months, learning to walk again, to basically do everyday activities.

“I’ve had a lot of setbacks and a lot of people who said I wouldn’t make it. It’s just about continually proving yourself and working hard. If you have a dream you can reach it.”

Playing the beautiful game with her national team in front of a hometown crowd, like she did in the Matildas vs. Brazil friendly at Robina last week, was another dream she was determined to achieve.

Hayley Raso of Australia acknowledges the fans after the team's defeat in the International Friendly match between the Matildas and Brazil at Cbus Super Stadium on December 01, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

While Raso is now based in the UK, where she plays for North London club Tottenham Hotspurs, she said the Gold Coast was always home.

She first played junior football at Palm Beach and was a student at Carrara’s Emmanuel College after winning a scholarship – which she has called her greatest achievement off-field.

While Raso knew she loved sport, and especially soccer, the state of play for women’s sport back in the early 2000s was such that she didn’t even know what to dream.

“As a young girl, I didn’t watch football or dream of being a player, because I didn’t see it. It wasn’t there … it wasn’t on the television and there were no female players to look up to,” she said.

“I started club football because my brother played. I knew I loved playing so I kept going and by the time I was in high school I was able to play for Canberra United. I finished my last couple of years via correspondence so things were starting to change.

“When I look at the crowd and the young kids watching us on the Gold Coast, I don’t see a reflection of who I was at that age because the world was still so different, I never imagined this would happen. But that just makes it even more amazing now.

“I can really see the impact that the Women’s World Cup has left on young girls and boys. I see such a change in how many are playing around the Gold Coast now.

“It’s so incredible that I can be an inspiration to young girls and boys, to see them wearing our jerseys and to know that I’m leaving a positive impact. It’s so important to me to give back my time to them and hopefully they can follow this pathway and follow in our footsteps and that will be them out there on the field one day as well.”

Hayley Raso when she was 16 at Emmanuel College in Carrara. From L-R Back row first Emma Dick 16 ,Rebecca Degnian 16 Cameron McEvoy , Hayley Raso 16 ,Casidhe Simmons 16 and Ellen Scott Young 14 .

More than a year after the record-setting Women’s World Cup run, the Matildas continue to break the mould with their Robina match, the 16th straight sellout for the team.

Raso said she was still processing the full impact the Matildas had on both the country and for women’s sport in general.

“When you’re in amongst it, you’re just riding the wave and preparing for your games and stuff but when it was finished I think it took us all by surprise,” she said.

“When we came back to Australia for the first time after the World Cup, I think that’s when it really started to sink in … we sort of changed the game.

“That legacy has continued. It doesn’t matter what size stadium we’re playing in, we’re selling it out. It’s amazing seeing people walking around in our jerseys, people recognising you here, there and everywhere.

“It’s been a special journey, but also a long time coming. From what we’ve done on and off the field we’ve finally gotten to the place where we wanted to be at.

“Our team is so bonded and coming back to the national team is a special place for us all. Representing our country and our family and all of our people, it’s just an immense pride.”

As much as the Matildas are a family, for Raso there is no substitute for the real deal.

Hayley Raso (correct spelling) is a year 11 student at Emmanuel College and has been selected to tour the UK playing soccer for Australia.

While her Gold Coast Nan Patricia, now almost 90, is famous for matching ribbons to every one of Raso’s kits, her mum Renaye is just as much an inspiration.

Despite raising three children as a single mum to Hayley and her two brothers, Jordan and Lachlan, Renaye made time to make the daily drive from the Gold Coast to Brisbane for her daughter’s training, as well as escorting her around the country for matches.

And when Raso suffered that fateful accident, her mum was on the first plane to America to look after her little girl.

While last week might have been the Matilda’s debut on Raso’s home ground, she’s determined it won’t be their last.

“This tour we’ve really tried to kind of encapsulate Australia, we just love coming back here. For me to have finally been able to come home and play in front of my family and friends for the first time, it’s very special,” she said.

“It’s magic being by the ocean again and feeling the summer weather, especially after the UK, but it’s really just all about seeing family and friends again.”

Hayley Raso of Australia poses for a portrait during the official FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 portrait session on July 17, 2023 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)