'Learned a lot': Mary Fowler lifts lid on life in the spotlight as Matildas eye Asian Cup

Mary Fowler is accustomed to the spotlight, but that has not always been the case.

Just four years ago, Fowler was a young talent looking to make her tournament debut at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Australian soil.

She had already earned 36 caps with the Matildas and scored nine goals, all the while settling into life in England where she had just inked a deal with Manchester City.

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Within the space of a month, Fowler's name was one that could not be missed.

At the time of the World Cup, she was one of the second-most searched names in Australia behind Matildas teammate and captain Sam Kerr.

The pair have faced their own mishaps due to ACL injuries in the build-up to the 2026 Women's Asian Cup, kicking off on Sunday.

And the superstar duo have been the names at the top of everyone's minds so far, searches again spiking around Fowler and Kerr's involvement in the squad.

Coach Joe Montemurro has named both women in his 23-player squad set to travel around Australia, though both have been playing limited minutes at club level in the WSL.

Montemurro has consistently reassured reporters and fans that Fowler and Kerr, who will captain the team, will be fit and firing in time for the tournament.

The expectations to deliver the same standard of performance that home fans last saw from the pair at the 2023 World Cup is not bothering Fowler.

"I've definitely gotten better at minimising pressure because I just don't make things a big deal," Fowler said, speaking to CommBank Newsroom.

"I think players work differently with that. For me, just treating games like they're just another game helps me not feel like there's any pressure.

"After playing in the World Cup on home soil, that was such an amazing experience. After that tournament I got more consistent (playing time).

"Then we had the Olympics and it was a bit of a disappointing tournament, so I'd say I probably learned a lot more from that one.

"But the following season, I felt like I took a lot of that growth into that season and felt like I had my most consistent season as a player."

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One key change Fowler noted was beneficial during that time was her training schedule, with simple fixes to her program assisting her both mentally and physically.

"For me, training became so much more important," she continued.

"I put so much more value in putting full effort and attention into training so that come game day I don't really feel nervous anymore because I just trust what I've done during the week.

"That's come with years of trying to figure out what works best for me. And it's also grown in the same direction I've grown as a person off the field.

"I've become much more comfortable in who I am, and I just don't like having too many really big highs. I like being content with things; that works really well for me."

With the pressure to perform not a focus of Fowler's, she began to reflect on the road to recovery that has brought her to being eligible to play at the Asian Cup.

Initial fears were the 23-year-old would "potentially not make it back in time" for the next major tournament, but she didn't get hung up about it.

"To be honest, I just started enjoying things outside of football," she recalled.

"I really enjoyed working with the physios at City because they're really transparent about the fact that rehab can take longer than you expect. It can have different challenges at different stages of that process.

"I think just keeping it really open and honest helped me because I was like, 'I just have to take it week by week'. I might go really well in one phase of the rehab and then potentially struggle in another. From the get-go, I just wanted to be back feeling 100 per cent.

"I feel really happy that it's just worked out that I've been able to do both, where I've been able to come back feeling like I am 100 per cent and I have taken enough time to heal properly. And that it's also happened to be in time for the Asian Cup."

This Asian Cup will likely be the final time the current Matildas playing group plays a major tournament on home soil together, with hosting rights rare to come by.

But while the top goal is to lift the trophy in front of a home crowd, Fowler is refusing to let that aim distract her from the job that needs to be done first.

"I think everyone comes into it wanting to win, but I personally just don't like getting ahead of myself," the City star said.

"In tournament football, things can change so easily. Teams you don't expect to do very well can turn around and beat teams that are expected to win. You have to prepare for every game in the same way and just remain humble.

"There's always something to take out of each game. For us, that means focusing on the Philippines for now and doing that as best as we can to prepare for it. Then after that game, we go from there."

The Matildas will kick off their Asian Cup campaign on Sunday when they take on the Philippines in Perth.