Abby Erceg had planned to retire after the Tokyo Olympics, until NZ was named joint-host of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
New Zealand and Australia's successful bid to co-host the FIFA women's World Cup has convinced Football Ferns defender Abby Erceg to play on beyond next year's Olympic Games.
Erceg had previously decided Tokyo would mark the end of her international career.
But the 30-year-old now sees the 2023 tournament on home soil as the perfect swansong.
"To finish your career at a world cup in your home country is kind of a fairytale ending to a long career, so I would absolutely love to play at home," Erceg tells Newshub.
"It would be such an honour."
Subconsciously, Erceg made the decision almost immediately.
"It was one of the first things I said actually," she recalls. "I turned to my girlfriend Kristen and said 'looks like I'm going to be playing until 2023 with the national team."
Which was a complete reversal from the Football Ferns defender's previous plans.
"Until that point, [the end was going to be]the Olympics," she says.
"That was a tournament that I could hopefully finish on a high at."
The 2023 showpiece will now provide the 141-cap veteran that opportunity, as well as a chance to inspire the younger generation watching in the stands or on TV.
"We always talk about wanting to grow the sport and getting more exposure in our country, and this just gives us the best opportunity to do that," she adds.
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