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Mackenzie Arnold wasn't even Australia's first-choice goalkeeperuntil recently, but is now being hailed as a national hero and stands in England's way in their Women's World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Arnold played a central role in the penalty drama on Saturday which sent co-hosts Australia into the last four of the World Cupfor the first time.
She saved three penalty kicks — and missed one of her own — to help propel the Matildas to a thrilling 7-6 shootout win over France in the quarter-finals.
It has been a whirlwind few months for the 29-year-old.
The West Ham United stopper has been part of the Matildas set-up for more than a decade but she was third choice for much of the time, spending the 2015 and 2019 WorldCups on the bench.
It is only this year that Arnold finally became coach Tony Gustavsson's first-choice between the posts.
Hope for future despite New Zealand's painful World Cup exit
FootballThe past few months have been significant in another way for Arnold off the pitch.
In April she posted a video on Instagram of herself collecting some hearing aids.
«Those closest to me know how long I've avoided this day, but here's a little glimpse of a life-changing day for me,» she wrote.
Arnold does not wear hearing aids during games because she would be «fiddling with them too much» and has said that not wearing them «is still quite normal for me, doesn't affect me too much».
But she told Optus Sport ahead of the World Cup: «It's still a whole different world when I put my hearing aids in.
»It's like, 'What have I been missing out on for 25 years?'"
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