My First World Cup: Ireland’s Chloe Mustaki on reaching the World Cup one year into playing football full-time
It says a lot about Chloe Mustaki that going from signing her first full-time professional contract to appearing at the Republic of Ireland’s first-ever Women’s World Cup in the space of a year would by no means be the most remarkable achievement of her football career so far.
Not long after captaining Ireland under-19’s to the semi-finals of the 2014 European Championship, the Ohio-born and Dublin-raised defender was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. Understandably, Mustaki did not return to playing for more than seven months as she fought cancer, although her promising career faced further setbacks once she was back on the pitch.
She has suffered two separate anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the last three years, going some way to explaining why it took until February 2022 for Mustaki to make her full Ireland debut.
However, having signed her first professional contract with Bristol City last summer before helping them earn promotion to the Women’s Super League, she has established herself as a regular in Vera Pauw’s squad ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
“It’s been a pretty intense 12 months,” she said ahead of Ireland’s pre-tournament fixture against Zambia. “12 months ago I walked away from a full-time job. A lot has happened. Whatever happens in the next few weeks, I can be happy and proud with how it’s gone.
“I’m grateful I got the chance at Bristol City and now heading into the WSL is a dream come true. Ten years ago, it wasn’t realistic for me to jump into a full-time set up. The money wasn’t really there, and I just wanted stability. I have no regrets. For girls now, the world is their oyster they have so many opportunities.
“Look at Katie McCabe, she was my year [in the Ireland youth set-up] and look at her now she’s a star but only a small percentage of girls realise that potential. There wasn’t room for us all to do it.”
With less than a month until the World Cup begins, Ireland boss Pauw is still yet to narrow her squad down to the 23 players who will travel to Australia next month.
Mustaki regularly pointed to the togetherness of the Ireland players throughout this 30 minute pre-match press conference, suggesting that there would be no feeling of envy from those who do not make the cut.
“We are a really close-knit group so there’s a lot of support through these more nerve-wrecking times,” she said. “For the girls who unfortunately don’t make it, they will be supporting the other girls. It is a fantastic opportunity for the nation so that’s what we’re most happy about.”
Perhaps this is why there was not a second’s pause when the 27-year-old was asked what made this current crop of Irish players so special. “The togetherness. It’s in our DNA I think. The support that we have for each other is unwavering no matter what. We have such a big age gap between the older girls and some of the younger girls, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that. Everyone’s lovely to each other and everyone’s supporting each other.
“I’ll fight for my place until the last day of course, but I need to remember the bigger picture.”
It is not only this bond between the players has changed the experience of representing Ireland since Mustaki’s days in the age-grade sides. Success on the field has drawn more eyes to the Girls In Green. The World Cup preparation games against Zambia and France will both be watched by sell out crowds at Dublin’s Tallaght Stadium.
“It’s pretty surreal,” said Mustaki. “I’ve been around the international set up since I was very young so to see how things have completely blown up since I was a kid… It’s phenomenal.
“When you walk to the shop or to get a coffee, you get people rolling down their car windows and wishing us good luck. Even little boys are coming to get pictures with the girls. We’re not just role models for little girls, we’re role models for little boys as well. That’s the biggest change, the whole-hearted support from everyone.
“It’s a dream come true and I’m relishing every moment of it.”
Whilst the situation that Mustaki and Ireland find themselves is understandably unfamiliar, they are all too aware of the challenge that is wating for them Down Under. Having been drawn in Group B alongside Australia, Canada and Nigeria, Ireland will have to be at their best to make it to the knockout rounds.
“This is the highest standard [training] camp we have ever had,” said Mustaki. “We’re just taking it week by week and session by session. Everyone knows their role.
“We’ve seen in recent games that the girls have a lot more freedom to get forward and create. It was something we were maybe reluctant to do in past campaigns, we were very rigid and structured but now we’re trying to get forward more and be more creative in the final third.”
It would be cruel to already begin looking beyond these exciting next few weeks for the Ireland players, but Mustaki’s career has clearly been spent meticulously plotting paths through adversity and ensuring she is well placed for the future.
She signed a two-year extension to her contract at Bristol City earlier this month, so the recruitment industry may have to wait a while longer before welcoming her back.
“Competition is massive now in the women’s game,” she said after being asked to reflect on the past few months as a full-time player. “Let’s just see what the next two years bring for me and hopefully I can keep playing for a good while yet.”
