If I can continue to kill it in the A-League then I should be able to do the same thing in the national team.
- Michelle Heyman
The highest goal-scorer in A-League Women's history wants to end her international hiatus to give the Matildas much-needed strikepower, revealing her desire to earn a World Cup call up next year.
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Michelle Heyman will use Canberra United's ALW campaign to put herself back into the Matildas selection frame after retiring from international duties in 2019.
Shellharbour's Heyman hasn't played for the Matildas for the past four years, but she is still one of Australia's greatest scoring weapons and she has some 290 days to impress coach Tony Gustavsson.
The 34-year-old has given the Matildas notice that she wants back in, and she is going to push for it.
Australia will host the World Cup next year, but the Matildas performances have been mixed in recent times and pressure is growing on Gustavsson to deliver on the sport's biggest stage.
Enter Heyman - the veteran who made an ALW comeback in 2020 and is still tearing opposition defences to shreds.
"I would love to be part of the Matildas, especially seeing my roommate [Katrina Gorry] kill it every single time. I would love to either be on the pitch with her, or be sitting on the bench supporting her closer than in the grandstands.
"Every time the Matildas are playing in Australia I go check in on her, go to the hotel and catch up with all the girls, and I do miss that. I miss the girls, I miss the team, I miss the training, so I'm definitely going to push for it."
It marks the first time since she stepped away from international duties in 2019 that she has aired her intention to don the green and gold again.
A run of injuries took its toll on her physically and mentally when she stepped away three years ago, and she subsequently took a year off to reset.
But ever since her return to the capital, she has come back stronger than ever.
The FIFA 2023 World Cup kicks off on July 20, and Heyman will have the best lead up of her career to allow her to focus on one thing - football.
Heyman was named as United's marquee signing and as a result, for the first time, will not have to work off the field this season.
"Now I have no stress on trying to make an income elsewhere, which gives me 24-hours a day to focus on football and focus on the things that I need to improve on to be the best that I can be," Heyman said.
"So knowing that I've got the full support of the club, full support of trainers, and I have the heart and the passion within me, I know personally that I can achieve this goal. I can give my all and then hopefully whoever's hands that goes to they do the right thing with it."
Gustavsson announced his 23-player squad for two upcoming international friendlies on Tuesday, featuring many of Heyman's former teammates including Clare Polkinghorne, Lydia Williams and Aivi Luik.
A number of the Matildas squad are similar in age to Heyman - Polkinghorne is 33, Williams is 34, and Luik is 37 - and it's what makes the striker's case even stronger.
"Hopefully people don't see me as a number, and see my age and think it's a bad thing because I come with years of experience," Heyman said. "And I think if I can continue to kill it in the A-League, then I should be able to do the same thing in the national team.
She has been owning the ALW, adding nine goals to her league title last season to make it 82 goals in 141 matches.
Although she wants to go one better this season and is aiming to make it to 100 goals, and the extended 18-game season should aid her plight.
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Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
