Australian coach Tony Gustavsson has developed a squad with enviable depth in every place over the previous three years.
Listed here are a number of the recreation changers who might take Australia deep into the match and current it with the possibility to seize the best prize of all – the FIFA Girls’s World Cup on dwelling soil in 2023.
Steph Catley
The crosses from open play and set items of the Arsenal defender, normally deployed at left again, may very well be pivotal to tapping into Sam Kerr’s aerial prowess. Versatile sufficient to deputise at centre again if wanted, the Melbourne-raised star is a chilled presence and stylish contributor with that elegant left foot.
Ellie Carpenter
A two-time Champions League finalist with Olympique Lyonnais on the age of 23, Carpenter has made a full restoration from a ruptured ACL and can seemingly be the energetic spark to launch assault after assault along with her surging runs ahead from proper wing again.
Katrina Gorry
The lacking hyperlink amid the Matildas type hunch, the influential midfielder took day out to begin a household (daughter Harper was born in 2021) earlier than returning with a bang to coincide with the group’s reversal in fortunes. A participant who seemingly all the time rises to the event, Gorry gained the 2014 Asian participant of the yr and continues to shine at dwelling and in Europe.
Caitlin Foord
The Arsenal ahead has all the time been integral to the Matildas’ attacking play, however the self-belief didn’t all the time accompany the undisputed expertise. Fortunately, Foord has come out of her shell and is able to turning a match in Australia’s favour with a second of magic.
Sam Kerr
Australia’s best-known consultant on the world stage, the star Chelsea striker even performed her half as our flag bearer in King Charles III’s coronation. The nation will likely be copying Kerr’s trademark backflip aim celebrations if her scoring prowess can carry the Matildas deep within the match.
Honourable mentions
Mary Fowler – The Manchester Metropolis attacking midfielder brings a contact of sophistication and completed ending through her lethal left foot. Has the knack of making one thing out of nothing.
Mackenzie Arnold – The West Ham goalkeeper has made her mark within the Girls’s Tremendous League along with her shot-stopping capability to nudge veteran Lydia Williams out of the No.1 spot. Will probably be key to making sure Australia advances past the group phases.
Hayley Raso – Newly signed for Spanish big Actual Madrid from Manchester Metropolis, the feisty winger has an uncanny capability of profitable 50-50 challenges within the attacking zone and utilizing her velocity and boundless vitality to press and arrange possibilities for her teammates.