Women’s Asian Cup: Matildas attacker Hayley Raso says Australia want to ‘put on a show’ at home tournament

Matildas winger Hayley Raso has declared her team will put on a show at the Women’s Asian Cup, with the Aussies excited to embrace the pressure of hosting a major tournament.

The Australian team have begun to filter into Perth ahead of Sunday’s opening match against The Philippines at Optus Stadium, with captain Sam Kerr landing overnight as the Matildas ramp up their preparations.

Raso was one of the first players to arrive, flying in on Sunday after temporarily signing off from German side Eintracht Frankfurt with a goal in their UEFA Women’s Europa Cup win over FC Nordsjaelland last week.

The attacker emerged from the 2023 Women’s World Cup as one of the Matildas with their reputations most-enhanced after she struck twice in their 4-1 win over Canada in Melbourne, and Raso said their Asian Cup preparation had familiar shades about it.

“It’s similar, isn’t it? It’s a home tournament for us. It’s something that we love, something that we thrive under,” she said.

“We want to put on a show, we want to do well and we’re really excited to get playing again here in Australia.”

While there are obvious differences between the World Cup and the Asian Cup, Raso said she expected the support — and accompanying pressure — to be similar.

“I look back at the World Cup and think about what a special and exciting time that was, the way the Australian public took to us, the way we performed in that tournament with the fans behind us — it still gives me goosebumps, it was so special.

“The expectations are high, and a lot of people want us to do well. We’re probably our harshest critics, we want ourselves to do well.

“I wouldn’t say that we feel pressured to perform, but we love the pressure.”

For all the pre-tournament talk surrounding Kerr and Mary Fowler’s fitness, the former scored a goal in Chelsea’s 2-1 Women’s FA Cup win over Manchester United on the weekend, while the latter started and got 63 minutes under her belt in Manchester City’s 4-0 victory over Sheffield United.

“You gain your confidence before you come into camp. It’s pretty exciting for us to have been able to have done that right before we come in here,” Raso said.

“It gives us a little bit of an extra confidence boost, to know that everybody’s fit, working hard at their club, so when we come here, we’re all at the top of our game and ready to go.”

Raso signed with Frankfurt in August after previous stops at Everton, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Tottenham and joked she was enjoying swapping German’s snow for Perth’s sun.

“The football is great, my club’s great. I’m really enjoying the German league, and I feel like it’s a place I can grow,” she said.

“Whatever team you’re at, whatever league you’re in, it’s always going to be different but I’ve really found that the German league is great.

“The facilities are top, the club’s are great. You’re having a tough game every week. It’s just about where I’m at, implementing the way I want to play and what I want to do into that team. I’ve been there six months now, so I’m slowly getting there, but I’m really enjoying it.”

Raso will be vying for contention for one of the Matildas’ wing spots on Sunday, alongside Caitlin Foord, Amy Sayer and Kaitlin Torpey.