From cancer patient to World Cup hero

In the presence of 50,000 at Eden Park, Stott and his teammates became national heroes when they beat Norway 1-0 in the opening match of the 2023 World Cup. This was their first victory in their history at the World Cup playground.

This achievement was a dream come true for Stott. In March 2021, it seemed that she had to give up football when she was diagnosed with blood cancer. At that time, the 30-year-old defender had just signed a contract for a few months with Brighton club to realize his dream of playing in the Super League - Britain's number one women's football tournament.

"I had a small tumor on my neck. It kept growing, day after day. I had to have surgery, had to have biopsies. Finally, after three or four months, I was diagnosed with blood cancer," Stott recounts in the documentary World at Their Feet produced by Discovery+ channel. "Why did this happen to me? That question repeated itself over and over in my head, but I knew I would never find the answer. This was terrible but I had a good prognosis. Somehow, I was still lucky. Everything happened very quickly. I immediately had the first chemotherapy. I was vomiting everywhere."

Stott had to experience symptoms commonly seen in cancer patients. She suffered from bone pain, headache, and dizziness. According to the New Zealand player, the worst thing was that she had mouth ulcers that prevented her from eating.

Despite his dire straits, Stott remains optimistic. She updates herself on social media and her personal blog Beat It by Stotty. The 30-year-old defender believes that her determination to play football again, along with encouragement from friends and relatives, has motivated her to overcome many months of treatment. "My family is amazing. So are my friends. I have a lot of people to lean on. I'm always thinking about coming back to play after fighting cancer. That's always been my goal, what gives me great motivation to get through it," Stott said.

In July 2021, just months after being diagnosed with cancer, Stott announced her illness was in remission. She thanked everyone for their support. Not long after that announcement, the 30-year-old defender returned to training with Melbourne City before signing a two-year contract with Brighton in 2022.

Last month, Stott was named by coach Jitka Klimkova to the list of 23 New Zealand players participating in the 2023 World Cup. Yesterday, she started, contributing to the seismic home team when defeating Norway - the team is ranked 12th in FIFA.

This match, Hannah Wilkinson scored the only goal at the beginning of the second half after an excellent combination. Ria Percival had a chance to double the lead for the hosts late in the game but her penalty shot went over the bar. With this victory, New Zealand is full of opportunities to reach the knockout round. They will face the Philippines in their next match on July 25 and then face Switzerland five days later.