Young GTA soccer stars Olivia Smith, Jayde Riviere shoot for World Cup glory

At age five, Olivia Smith told her dad she was going to play in the World Cup.

At 18, the Whitby, Ont. soccer star's "life dream" is about to come true as she pulls on a Canada jersey at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Smith, a promising young talent set to soon join a club in Europe, was caught by surprise when coach Bev Priestman selected her for the team — a moment caught on camera by Canada Soccer.

"Initially I was going into that meeting, you know, just to say my goodbyes," Smith told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Wednesday. 

"We were about to head off to the zoo or whatever, and as soon as those words came out of her mouth, I was just in disbelief."

When the midfielder told her family the life-changing news, her dad reminded her about her early prediction. "He even sent me the clip and it made me cry a little bit."

Smith is one of 10 Greater Toronto Area women on the Canadian team, which enters the tournament ranked sixth overall in the world and as the reigning Olympic champions. The team plays its first game against Nigeria in the Group B stage Thursday night.

In 2019, at the age of 15, Smith became the youngest Canadian soccer player to debut with a national team. She says this will be a different experience than that.

"Women's soccer is evolving so much and it has [grown] so quickly within the past few years. This is the biggest World Cup."

Markham, Ont.'s Jayde Riviere agrees. 

She is playing in her second World Cup, a tournament with 32 teams participating for the first time.

"I think what it reflects is just the growth in football for the women's side and just how people are able to excel with the resources that we had."

Tommy Bianchi coached both Smith and Riviere at the Markham