{"id":370501,"date":"2024-02-25T04:37:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-25T05:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=370501"},"modified":"2024-02-25T08:04:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T08:04:15","slug":"i-had-tears-stars-admission-over-world-cup-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=370501","title":{"rendered":"'I had tears': Star's admission over World Cup glory"},"content":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffichelle Heyman<\/a> couldn't have scripted a better return to the Matildas<\/a> jersey.<\/p>\n

Having retired five years ago, Heyman was selected for the side's Olympic qualifiers against Uzbekistan as a number of injuries left coach Tony Gustavsson searching for re-enforcements.<\/p>\n

With the score 0-0 in the first leg, the 35-year-old came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute and broke the deadlock \ufeffwith a header.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Coach's 'weird' return sparks Queensland into life<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Dream return for retired star as Matildas win\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> England left in disbelief over contentious umpire call\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Matildas went on to win the match 3-0<\/a>, putting their foot in the door towards a Paris 2024 dream.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Heyman said the message was simple from Gustavsson has he searched for a match-winner. \ufeff<\/p>\n

"Get in the box, do what you do and score a goal," she recounted.<\/p>\n

"The only thing I wanted to do was exactly that, get out there, have fun, smile and do what I do best.<\/p>\n

"… It just felt so nice to be able to do what I love with the girls I love \ufeffand play for my country.<\/p>\n

"To be able to step on that pitch for them and score the goal that opened it up for the rest of the team is an incredible feeling and I feel so honoured and proud to get a second chance."<\/p>\n

\"Matildas<\/p>\n

Heyman's goal remarkably comes eight years after her last major for the Matildas, against Zimbabwe in 2016 at the Rio Olympics.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on \ufeffher time out of the international scene, the striker admitted "I needed that time away" but described her return as "surreal and unbelievable".<\/p>\n

With injuries to Sam Kerr, Kyah Simon and Holly McNamara<\/a>, Heyman has now become an important cog in the Matildas qualification process for Paris 2024.<\/p>\n

It's an incredible achievement for the Canberra United goalscorer who admitted how emotional she was watching the Matildas during their home FIFA World Cup campaign last year, with a return to the international setup looking miles away at the time. \ufeff<\/p>\n

"\ufeffI had tears, I remember sitting in the stands watching the girls in the World Cup and now for myself to be able to get out into the field to play in front of my friends and family, it's going to be a surreal moment," Heyman said.<\/p>\n

"I've never had that, I've never had many of my friends and family come and watch me play so it's going to be really special."<\/p>\n

The Matildas will play Uzbekistan on Wednesday February 28 in Melbourne, with \ufeffthe advantage of a 3-0 aggregate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffichelle Heyman couldn't have scripted a better return to the Matildas jersey. Having retired five years ago, Heyman was selected for the side's Olympic qualifiers […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":370503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=370501"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":370506,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370501\/revisions\/370506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/370503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=370501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=370501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=370501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}