FIFA Women’s World Cup star Cortnee Vine fondly remembers her time growing up in Shepparton

Nowadays, the Sydney FC and Matildas superstar calls the quaint Queensland suburb of Mango Hill home, but once upon a time, Vine’s roots were deep in Shepparton’s soil.

As a tyke, Vine attended St Georges Road Primary School for a short period.

There, she kicked a football about for the first time and was hard to miss, sporting a shock of orange hair that trailed her as she cut around the ground chasing the play.

Twenty years have passed since then and, much like her hair, Vine’s football ability has been preened to a stylish opus and during a famous night in August 2023, it was on full display for the world to see.

Vine drilled a spot kick to send the Matildas to the Women’s World Cup semi-final and wrote Australian football history from 12 yards, recanvassing the wall on which the nation’s sporting tapestry hangs.

“It’s been eight or nine months, (but I) still don’t have words for that moment,” she said.

“Life hasn’t stopped; I feel like I still haven’t had heaps of time to settle and reflect on that moment. But for me, I just don’t think it gets much better.

“I think you dream about those moments as a kid, the big dying moments, to finish that pen and send your team into the semi-final of a World Cup on home soil — I don’t think you can write it any better.”

More than 4.1 million people watched Vine slam home the penalty against France.

So you could forgive her for being caught up in the genuine superstardom that followed.

But deep down, beneath the flights and countless camera shutter snaps, Vine is as grounded as they come and still remembers where she first learned her trade.

“I only have vague memories from when I lived in Shepparton, but I definitely went back there to visit family quite a lot,” she said.

“We moved when I was about six, so I have some memories of walking to the primary school with my parents, just little things like that.

“We had a nice cute house that we had a lot of family come to, so Shepparton reminds me of family for sure.”

Though she hasn’t packed her bags for the Goulburn Valley in quite some time, Vine still squeezes in some travel between her playing duties.

The 26-year-old round ball revelation recently became an ambassador for Australian luggage brand Strand for the By Her Side campaign celebrating Mother’s Day on May 12.

“There’s a few days here and there where I love to do a road trip — that’s probably the biggest times I get to travel,” she said.

“I get a couple of days to jet off somewhere, it could be home up in Brisbane which is probably my favourite place to go.

“We live in Mango Hill, so that’s my favourite place to go purely because family is there. My other (favourite) one is to drive up to Newcastle.”

Outside Australia, Vine circled Spain and England as two other destinations that captured her heart while away on international duties with the Matildas.

Last month, Vine was part of a 23-strong national team squad that travelled to the US for a one-off match against Mexico, and it only broadened her mind about the opportunities females have in giant football nations such as England and America.

“Both leagues are massive for women’s football and it’s just fantastic to see,” she said.

“It’s something I hope for the A-League in Australia, it’s something we’re pushing and we still have a lot of work to do, but that’s our goal.

“When you’re over there, you feel like a professional athlete — you feel like a very valued woman.”

There’s one person Vine needs to demonstrate her value to the most over the next month.

His name is Tony Gustavsson, the Matildas coach.

Gustavsson will be doing the mental arithmetic, calculating how to whittle down a thick chunk of talent to 18 names for the 2024 Paris Olympics squad, and Vine desperately hopes she will be one of them.

“I’ve always loved the Olympics, I think that came from when I did Little Athletics growing up," she said.

“I wanted to be a part of the Olympics back when I was nine — not for soccer, but for sprinting.

“It’s very crazy that it could be around the corner for me, but it’s something that I hold very close, so I definitely want to be a part of that squad.”

Vine isn’t shirking the fact nerves are aplenty ahead of June’s selection date.

Should the ex-Shepparton resident make it, she’ll be tasked with helping the Matildas progress past a ‘death group’ consisting of the US, Germany and Zambia.

This weekend, however, Vine is out to fell a giant on home soil.

Her Sydney FC side will lay it all on the line against Melbourne City in the A-League Women’s grand final, where two juggernauts of the domestic game will lock horns.

It could very well go down to the wire. Dare it be said: penalties.

But if that is the case, Sydney FC fans shouldn’t worry — they’ve got Cortnee Vine on their side.