The birthday presents most coveted by the vast majority of teenagers turning eighteen are many and varied, often a little outrageous and, more often than not, budget-busters! Not so that of Rosemary Eleanor Florence White. Her wish was for something simple yet immensely fulfilling, particularly personally. What’s more, much to the delight of her parents, John and Jo, it required no contribution, either financial or physical, on their part. Indeed, all they had to do was wait for their only daughter to answer a specific phone call. Cue a timely trill, and the dulcet tones of Football Ferns coach John Herdman were soon conveying the message that the former Oceania Women’s Player of the Year and two-time New Zealand International Women’s Player of the Year was longing to hear. "I’d say it’s the best eighteenth birthday present I could ever get!" laughs New Zealand women’s football’s baby-faced assassin. "I don’t think there’s anything much better than getting in the squad to go to a World Cup. It’s a great feeling". And a great opportunity for Rosie to make her mark on the ultimate stage of the women’s game, having already cemented her place in footballing folklore as the only player in history to score hat-tricks at two age-grade FIFA Finals in the same year. That feat, achieved at the FIFA U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals in 2008, will almost certainly never be accomplished again. But could Rosie possibly achieve a hat-trick of hat-tricks, and complete the treble by claiming a senior level match ball during her maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals in Germany? "Haha! You set your goals high, I suppose. Hopefully I can score my first full international goal for New Zealand against top-level opposition at this World Cup - fingers crossed!" To date, Rosie has scored seven goals in 26 internationals for the Football Ferns, and 86 goals all told in club and representative women’s football over the course of her career in her homeland. But "The Golazo Girl" - so nicknamed due to her penchant for scoring spectacular goals on occasions when her team most needs something special to rescue a seemingly lost cause - won’t be terrorising

New Zealand-based defences again. You can just about hear the sighs of relief from opposition defenders the length and breadth of the country. Because not for Rosie a return to Three Kings United after the ultimate high of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals. Instead, she’ll be embarking on life as a Bruin! "After the World Cup, I’m going to take up a scholarship in the States, at UCLA - that’s the next four years of my life sorted out. It’s exciting, although I’ll miss home, of course, but I will be coming home during this time to play for New Zealand. "Once I’ve completed my scholarship, I’ll be looking to play professionally - we’ll see what options are available in 2015". Rosie will have some high-quality team-mates alongside her as she begins college life, with many of them age-grade representatives for the USA or Canada. Among them are some names familiar to New Zealanders from the 2008 FIFA U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cup Finals - US internationals Zakiya Bywaters, Sydney Leroux and Samantha Mewis. Before that opportunity comes to pass, Rosie’s sights are set on Germany, where she hopes to help the Football Ferns overcome Japan, England and Mexico en route to reaching the quarter-finals - foreign territory for New Zealand teams to date, football-wise. No stone has been left unturned in the bid to make this dream a reality. "We’ve been training pretty hard physically, and while it’s been pretty draining mentally, my own preparations have gone really well, and the team’s looking very strong. "After the games against Australia and China, we’re pretty confident about the team’s performance, and I think we’ll go really well", says a player who loves the fact she’s no longer the youngest player in the Football Ferns squad. "Haha! It’s great, eh? No more carrying the ball bags and cones, etc., for me - that’s Katie Bowen’s job now!" laughs eighteen-year-old Rosie, with a twinkle in her eye. "I suppose it’s a sign I’m growing up in the team a wee bit". And poised to spread her wings and fly.