Matildas star Fowler reveals heartbreaking sacrifices ahead of Women's World Cup

Matildas star Mary Fowler has revealed the heartbreaking sacrifices she has had to make in order to become one of the hottest properties in world football - saying she's only seen her siblings grow up over video calls.

The 20-year-old wunderkind now plies her trade in the WSL for English giants Manchester City, and will be a vital part of Australia's attacking rotation at the home World Cup, which begins in just over a month's time.

A forward with breathtaking athleticism, dribbling skills and innate game awareness, Aussie superstar Sam Kerr dubbed Fowler the 'next big thing' in football last year.

Veteran coach Alen Stajcic, who gave Fowler her National debut at just 15 years of age, labelled her the 'most talented female player' he'd ever seen. So huge things have been expected of her for some time.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia as her documentary series Mary on 7Plus prepared to air, Fowler revealed the heartbreaking sacrifices she has had to make on her way to becoming one of the hottest properties in female football.

The silky-skilled forward signed for French top-flight club Montpellier in January 2020 aged just 17 and made her debut a month later before Covid closed down the season.

It meant she, like many Aussies around the world, spend the entire pandemic unable to see her family, who were more than 15,000km away.

Fowler is part of a very tight-knit family, and there would not be many people capable of surviving and thriving in that situation at such a tender age.

Father Kevin is Irish, and met her mother Nido in her native Papua New Guinea, before the family settled in the Cairns suburb of Trinity Beach.

The Matildas star is the middle child of five siblings, who burst to prominence on social media and are known collectively as the 'Fowler Five'.

There's brothers Caoimhin (also known as Quivy or Vino) and Seamus, and sisters Ciara and Louise. Vino and Ciara are also very talented footballers, playing professionally in Australia and Europe.

Talking to Fowler, or just having even the briefest check of her social media pages, it is very evident how close she is with her family, and what a big part of her life they are.

And while being a globe-trotting football superstar might seem a glamorous life to some, Fowler said the last few years certainly came with their challenges.

'It can be quite hard sometimes. When I was in France, I hadn't seen my family for three years. I hadn't been back home, so it is quite hard at times,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

'But I think that's why it gives you so much more motivation to want to get the most out of your time while you're away, to make those sacrifices worth it.

'I have video calls with my family and I see my younger siblings growing up. They finish high school, they go to prom, and I don't get to be part of any of that.

'And it's those moments that make you realise how much you're missing to be where you are.

'So it kind of it gives me a lot more motivation and drive to really be the best footballer I can be, because that's the only way it's going to be making those sacrifices worth it.'

And it all began in the family's Cairns backyard, where Fowler says her siblings and parents fostered a genuine and infectious love for football over some epic battles.

'We played a lot of football when I was growing up. Even before I joined a team, we were playing football together, and I definitely would not have started if I wasn't playing with my siblings in the backyard and stuff,' she said of her introduction to football.

'Me and my family have been through so much together and not just on the field but off the field. So that's really influenced my journey as a footballer and definitely given me a reason to keep going.

'Everything has started through them and has continued through them as well.'

It was immediately obvious from a young age that Fowler was set for stardom.

Playing in her native Cairns, Fowler would usually play two years above her age group with her sister Ciara. And of course, she dominated, so much so one cranky opposition coach complained, furious his boys team had lost to a bunch of girls.

The Fowlers' childhood coach Stacey Fittock opened up about one particular moment that shocked him, forcing a 'sad' Mary to go back down to an age group that didn't challenge her.

'When the team was playing well I sort of have to put Mary back a little so she wouldn’t dominate the game, and that’s playing boys two years older than her,' he explained on the 7Plus documentary, which is produced in conjunction with Rebel Sport.

'The coach of the other team went ballistic at half-time because he couldn’t believe his boys team was losing to a bunch of girls.

'During the game, the manager of the other team went over to the office and made a complaint about her playing when she was supposedly too young … and then they came over and made us remove Mary. It was a pretty sad day.'

While she has a gentle and affable nature, there is very clearly a striking determination to not only be a brilliant footballer, but just be herself in an increasingly divided world.

There is no clichés or cooking cutter responses when you ask the Matildas star a question - she tells it like it is, and that's part of the reason she can bare all on a documentary series, that was shot by her brother, Vino.

'I’m at this point (in my life) where I’m going to say what I’m feeling, not what I think you want me to say…I’m just turning up and I’m being me,' she said.

'I know I'm weird and creative. I love doing sport, not just football.

'My brother is just someone that's really easy to work with, he always wants to make people feel comfortable. So that's definitely made it easier for me to just be myself on camera.

'It's just nice to be able to work with someone that you're close to and to be able to create something that you're both passionate about, and I and I think that you can see that in the documentary series.'

Fowler only ever wanted to play for Australia, but the Matildas still faced a fierce battle with Ireland to secure her allegiance thanks to her father Kevin's Irish heritage.

Both countries were well aware of what the prodigious talent could turn into, and the sway of representing the birthplace of her father and grandfather clearly had at least some appeal.

Sister Ciara and brother Caoimhin represented the country at underage level as well, but the sway for Fowler of the place she was born and bred in was too much.

While Ireland didn't get what they want, Fowler had a very sweet moment in 2021 after the Matildas lost to Ireland  - a game in which she scored twice - where she was able to reunite with her treasured grandfather, Kevin.

It was a touching scene as cameras crowded around to document the moment, and the man himself was chuffed after his granddaughter gave him her playing jersey.

'The first game Ireland v Australia, when Mary scored, that made my day,' he said on the Mary documentary.

'But when the match was over, Mary came over to me … she took her jersey off (and gave it to me) and there were all these photographers around. I was so proud.'

And who will Mary and her might Matildas be taking on in the World Cup opener in front of 83,000 people in Sydney on July 20?

Why Ireland, of course. Funny how life works.