The secret behind Matildas star Steph Catley’s perfect penalties at the Women’s World Cup

Steph Catley’s fiancee has lifted the lid on how she has mastered the perfect penalty at the Women’s World Cup.

Catley has stepped up in more ways than one at the tournament Down Under, taking the captain’s armband from the injured Sam Kerr, as well as assuming penalty duties – typically taken by the Chelsea star.

And she hasn’t let her country down from 12 yards, scoring the Matildas’ only goal in the opening game win over Ireland, before scoring in the 4-0 demolition of Canada in the final group game. 

Both spot kicks were dispatched with aplomb, and Catley’s goalkeeper fiancee Dean Bouzanis – who plays for Championship side Reading – has revealed how he helped her finetune her craft.

‘When we first started dating I remember Steph was at Orlando (in USA), and I was at Melbourne City and in my off-season I travelled over, and I had to start doing a pre-season training schedule,’ he told KIIS FM.

‘She decided to take some penalties against me … I’m not going to lie, she didn’t really give me good confidence – her penalties are second to none.’

The pair met when they played for Melbourne City’s men’s and women’s teams, and Bouzanis could not hide his pride in the Matildas’ amazing World Cup campaign. 

‘She’s been brilliant, the whole of the Matildas have been brilliant, to be honest with you,’ he said.

‘It’s not easy playing in a home World Cup, there’s a lot of pressure in the first couple of games, especially at home, but what they’ve done, they’ve kicked on, they’re not conceding goals, and they’re doing really well.’

‘The nerves have gone because the backing from the Australian fans have been unbelievable, and the girls really feel that,

‘They’ve just been getting stronger and stronger as the tournament has gone on, and the team chemistry that they’ve got there is very good.’

Reflecting on how they first met, Bouzanis said: ‘She caught my eye as soon as I got there [Melbourne City], everyone speaks so highly of Steph-the way she is as a person and once we started talking and getting to know each other we just clicked instantly.

‘It’s very good because we both understand what’s needed for us to be the best we can in our careers, for example, there’s a lot of sacrifice – I haven’t seen Steph now for about eight or nine weeks… at the start of our relationship I didn’t see her for six or seven months.’