This is the little girl who has captured the hearts of Australia's women's soccer team, the Matildas. Canberra 10-year-old Claire Falls enjoyed a moment she will never forget when she trained alongside her idols at the Australian Institute of Sport on Sunday.
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Claire has a vision impairment that affects her depth perception, but she is able to play with the help of a state-of-the-art audible ball.
Matildas players welcomed Claire as if she was one of their teammates, kicking around the ball and including her in most of the training drills.
The Tuggeranong United junior kept pace with the elite squad and completed all but five minutes of the 1½ hour session.
She even received a one-on-one lesson with Matildas coach Hesterine de Reus that focused on heading her ball.
''It was really fun and exciting and we got to do some different things,'' Claire said. ''We did a core workout, then some passing and I learnt to do a header.
''I just wanted to learn how to do it properly with my ball.''
The Matildas invited Claire to their session after hearing of her courage and determination to continue playing the game she loved.
The Vision Australia ball contains magnets that make it rattle when it moves.
Claire's eyesight has deteriorated quickly since August last year.
The problem was only detected after a mathematics test in which the year five Trinity Christian College student couldn't identify a three-dimensional diagram.
But it hasn't stopped her from living and breathing the world game.
Claire has her own Twitter account, an online blog and has keenly followed the progress of Moya Dodd, who is the first Australian to be elected to the FIFA Executive Committee.
The Matildas are at the AIS before their two-game series against New Zealand in Canberra on June 13 and 16.
The first game is behind closed doors, with the second to be played at McKellar Park.
Tickets are on sale from Capital Football.
