Arrowtown-raised Anna Leat is pumped to represent the Football Ferns in her own backyard during the Fifa Women’s World Cup, which begins next Thursday. PHOTO: FIFA Arrowtown-raised Football Fern Anna Leat has been to many tournaments with the national team, including the Olympics, but nothing compares to the buzz around this Fifa Women’s World Cup in her own backyard. "It’s really cool ... It’s unreal seeing the country get behind us and that extra motivation and support is huge," Leat said. "We’re up for it and pumped, playing for each other and the people you love." When Mountain Scene caught up with the 22-year-old goalkeeper she was signing autographs at a community event in Napier, a day after her side beat Vietnam 2-0 in a warm-up game at a packed McLean Park to snap a 10-game losing streak. Leat said there was no reason why the Ferns could not continue their winning form into the World Cup and advance into the knockout stages for the first time. They begin their campaign against Norway at a blockbuster tournament opener next Thursday at Eden Park, followed by the Philippines in Wellington on July 25 and their final group A match against Switzerland in Dunedin on July 30. The Ferns have tasted success against all three teams. "We’ve got no reason not to be confident. "On home turf is another reason we can back ourselves. "They are opponents we can face up to and, on our day, there’s no reason not to win." Although it is her first taste of a senior world cup, Leat knows all about playoffs at junior tournaments. In 2018 she saved two penalties and then kicked the winning penalty shot against Japan to send the New Zealand under-17 side into the World Cup semifinal, the first New Zealand team in either women’s or men’s football to qualify for the final four in a global tournament. The goal won the public vote as the favourite sporting moment at the 2018 Halberg Awards — not bad for a keeper. Sixth in line to take a penalty, Leat was not expecting to get the callup to take the shot "but it ended up playing out that way and ended up being the winner, so that was a pretty crazy moment". It is still a career highlight, but would be surpassed with any success at this World Cup, she said. Although the youngest of three keepers in the squad, Leat is a veteran of the national team, having made her debut for the senior Ferns as a 15-year-old in 2017. She is also one of few players in the team plying her trade in the English Super League and has just finished a season for Aston Villa following a season for West Ham in 2021-22. Last October Leat made headlines for saving an incredible four penalties for Villa during a penalty shootout against Manchester United to secure a 4-3 win in the League Cup. She attributed her success to good hand-eye co-ordination developed playing different sports while growing up in Arrowtown, especially karate, in which she attained a purple belt — three off black — before having to park the martial art for her pro football career. Despite leaving the Wakatipu Basin as a 10-year-old when her family moved to Auckland, Arrowtown was where her heart was, Leat said. "Every time I go back it feels like home, probably more and more each time." matt.porter@odt.co.nz
