Home World Cup has brought the most pressure for Arsenal and Australia defender Catley | OneFootball

Arsenal and Australia defender Steph Catley says that playing in a home FIFA Women’s World Cup has brought more pressure than any other moment in her career.

The CommBank Matildas are chasing a maiden world title with the added benefit of playing all of their tournament matches on home soil.

Australia kicked-off their home FIFA Women’s World Cup with a slightly nervy 1-0 victory over tournament debutants the Republic of Ireland in Sydney last week. When speaking about the occasion, defender Catley said that there was huge pressure on the Australian players but the home crowd helped them to safely navigate their way through a difficult moment.

“There’s so much pressure coming into a moment like this for our team but I think that all of the girls have handled it tremendously well,” Catley said when speaking to the media ahead of Thursday’s Group B match against Nigeria.

“It’s probably the most pressure that I’ve ever felt in my career as an athlete coming into this tournament. I think because we care so much, that builds pressure and obviously, the public care so much as well.

“When we were out there (against Ireland), the support was insane and it certainly helped us in those final 15-20 minutes where things got a little bit ‘iffy’. The crowd being so loud; they were with us in all those set-pieces and we could feel their energy. You don’t feel tired in those moments like you normally would, you have that extra step in you and I think that’s the massive advantage of playing on home soil.

“We are so grateful for the support and while it did add pressure, it’s just going to help us from here on in.”

Catley was the match-winner at Stadium Australia. She held her nerve to net the only goal of the game against the Republic of Ireland from the penalty spot. The player said that it was the most important goal that she has ever scored for club or country.

She said “The penalty was definitely the most important goal that I’ve ever scored, although I haven’t scored many.

“There wasn’t much going through my head, I just tried to calm myself down and think about where I wanted to place it. I really just tried to think about it as a set-piece. I take a lot of corners and free-kicks so I really just tried to go through the same process, picked my spot and hit it where I wanted to hit it.

“It was definitely the most important goal I’ve scored.”

Australia’s second Group B match against Nigeria kicks-off at 11am on Thursday morning.