FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: Can Matildas youngster Mary Fowler dethrone Sam Kerr?

Four years ago a teenage Mary Fowler warmed a bench at the World Cup. Now, can she form a star partnership with captain Sam Kerr that can unlock Australia’s World Cup hopes?

Mary Fowler celebrates with Sam Kerr. Picture: Getty

Speed, agility, skill, a tactical brain – Mary Fowler has it all but that is not what makes her one of the Matildas’ biggest threats this World Cup – it’s her confidence.

It’s not something the 20-year-old has always had.

As a 15-year-old in the Matildas’ squad Fowler said she often felt unsure of herself and her role within the team.

At just 16-years-old, she was part of the 2019 World Cup team but didn’t get a call-up off the bench.

Fowler now has 36 caps to her name. An impressive feat given her age and the fact she plays the similar position to captain Sam Kerr.

So will she get a go this time around?

Socceroos great and Optus Sport football expert Mark Schwarzer said there was no reason Fowler and Kerr couldn’t complement each other in the same team.

“We all believe that Sam Kerr is the best player in the world so she’s a very difficult player to take a spot over because she is such a great player, a phenomenal player for Australia,” Schwarzer said.

“But I think there is room for both of them. Mary can have a big impact on this tournament if not always from the start but certainly off the bench in the worst case scenario, I see her playing a lot of minutes at this World Cup and being a big player for Australia.”

Mary Fowler of the Matildas celebrates scoring a goal with Sam Kerr

Schwarzer said Fowler’s journey to this historic home tournament had set her up for success.

“I remember when I first started playing and being involved with the national team, you grow mentally from those first experiences even if you’re not playing and just training,” Schwarzer said.

“It gives you an idea of what it is like to step up to the next level, because it is a big jump up from club football.

“There is always this level of nervousness because you’ve watched your teammates play time and time again and you’ve watched from afar, admired and been inspired and all of a sudden there you are.”

Schwarzer said for Fowler to have been around the team at a World Cup, experiencing the highs and lows and learning what a big tournament looks will have set her up for this year’s event in front of a home crowd.

The former Socceroos goalkeeper was full of praise for Fowler’s playing style, her aggressiveness on and off the ball and football brain but said it was her confidence that made her stand out from the rest.

“When Australia played England I thought that she was a real handful,” Schwarzer said.

“She’s someone that brings a very unique style of football. She is a bit of an unknown and unpredictable. She thinks about the game on a different wavelength.

“I find her to be someone who thinks outside the box and has a different type of awareness about the space around her.

“Because of the way she plays, the way she can come on and bring extra energy off the bench, I think she can really cause some problems.

Mary Fowler of the Matildas celebrates scoring a goal with teammates

“What’s impressive for such a young age is her enormous amount of confidence. She’s not afraid to take on players, she’s not afraid to have shots from a distance and she’s someone that will always play on the front foot.”

Confidence is something Fowler said she has only found recently. And it’s something that she has focused on building this WSL season – which has seen her play limited minutes for Manchester City.

“Being able to train every day at a high level, be surrounded by top class players and have coaching staff that know so much about football, naturally grows you and gets you to improve because there is a higher level you need to be at and a new standard the players expect of you,” Fowler said.

“It’s not that heaps has been added to my game, it’s just that the things that you do, you just have to do better.

“You have to be more aggressive, things have to be clean, your technique has to be good. You have to be more consistent with what you do.

“Not being able to have as many minutes as I probably wanted to have has also helped me mentally to just be even more motivated at training and to show what I’ve got.

“So I think it’s worked well for me and I’m really happy with where I’m at and how I’m feeling mentally and physically.”

Mary Fowler (left) of Peninsula scores while being challenged by Chloe Shute of South Coast in the State School Soccer Championship held in Cairns.

Fowler said she has done a lot of growing as a player and a person since the French World Cup.

“I was obviously very young last World Cup, I was a very confident player but I’ve definitely grown a lot since then,” Fowler said.

“I think being a lot more comfortable with who you are as a person also feeds into how you are on the field.

“I’ve found myself a lot more. When you are a teenager you obviously question a lot of things, you don’t know what you want to do with your life, you don’t even know why you exist.

“But you are there and now I’m at a point where I’m just content with where I’m at, I know who I am.

“I’m comfortable in these environments to just be myself and that helps me just do what I need to do on the field.

“So now instead of going into a World Cup thinking I have to prove myself I’m going to a World Cup knowing the value that I bring to the team.”