Determined De Vanna (Lisa De Vanna interview)

Australia forward Lisa De Vanna, recently named co-captain and heading for a third World Cup at 30, describes four hectic months and the longest continuous period she has spent with team-mates since joining the national team. The squad have trained together extensively despite few matches since the W-League ended, with warm-up games planned on arrival in Canada. Tipped as dark horses, she says she has been in enough do-or-die games to know what to expect and that it comes down to self-belief. Of a Group D labelled the group of death, her first thought was to get to training, but her focus is on Australia’s own football, mental toughness and leaders across the field. She names Caitlin Foord as having the x-factor and sets the semi-finals as a benchmark.