Australia’s Captain Sam Kerr celebrating her goal. Photo Credits: Matildas via Twitter.
The Matildas have announced their final squad of 23-players to represent Australia at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, which includes some familiar names such as Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Lydia Williams. The Matildas have been on a winning streak since the beginning of the year and will be looking to carry this on in their send off match against France on the 14th of July. Arguably their proudest victory recently has been ending England’s 30 game winning streak. Over 40,000 tickets have already been sold which means the team will break their previous record attendance for a standalone Matildas’ game.
Australia, despite having qualified for every FIFA Women’s World Cup since 1995, have never made it past the quarter finals. Now they have the opportunity (alongside New Zealand) to play a major tournament on home soil and make history being the first two nations to co-host a major football tournament. They kick off their world cup against the Republic of Ireland on the 20th of July at the Accor Stadium in Sydney.
Hayley Raso and Sam Kerr celebrating an Australian goal. Photo Credits: FIFA
Australia’s WWC group
Australia is in group B along with the Republic of Ireland, Nigeria and Canada. This World Cup will see a team debut for Ireland, who will be captained by Katie McCabe. Similar to Australia, Nigeria have played in every women’s World Cup – their greatest result in the tournament was in 1999 when they reached the quarterfinals. Canada has been to the World Cup a total of eight times now and in 2003 placed fourth. Australia’s name has been mentioned in conversations as to who could realistically win the Women’s World Cup this year. The crucial moment for them will be opening match against the Republic of Ireland. How they play that game could – and probably will – set the tone for their campaign this summer. If the team are confident and in a good headspace, then they could be a brutal team to play against. However, if the nerves of the World Cup get the better of them, as we’ve seen in past matches, the Matildas can be unpredictable.
Head coach
Tony Gustavsson took on the job of head coach in January 2021 and since then has been guiding the Matildas on their road to the Women’s World Cup as co-hosts. Gustavsson had experience being assistant to Jill Ellis’ and being part of the team that won the USA’s back to back championships at the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019, which has ultimately benefited the Matildas.
The final 23
In final squad of 23 players, we see big names such as Arsenal stars Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord. Ellie Carpenter has made it, despite her ACL injury last year. Familiar faces for fans are included like Lydia Williams, Hayley Raso and Mackenzie Arnold.
🌏🏆SQUAD: 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐃.
Introducing our 23-player squad for the #FIFAWWC – ready to give it our all on home soil!#TilitsDone pic.twitter.com/igvxAhRgQQ
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 3, 2023
Australia’s key players to watch
Known for her famous backflip celebration, captain Sam Kerr will be a vital player in this tournament for the Matildas. Having 120 caps for the team and 63 goals (and counting) Tony Gustavsson will be looking to utilize her in every game possible. This will be Sam’s fourth world cup having been before in 2011, 2015 and 2019. Having six other major tournaments under her belt – like the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the Olympic games – younger players will be looking to Kerr throughout the tournament for her experience. In the torturous World Cup game back in France 2019, where Australia lost to Norway on penalties, Kerr made five goals in just four appearances.
Emily Van Egmond, after debuting for the Matildas at 16 and now having 127 caps, is a familiar face for fans. The midfielder has been to eight major tournaments in her international career including three previous World Cups. Known for her intelligence on the pitch and the ability to either play more defensively in midfield or further up the pitch by assisting in getting the ball in the back of the net, Tony Gustavsson will be counting on Emily throughout this upcoming World Cup. Emily has so far scored 30 goals in her international career and will surely be looking to increase this total in upcoming games.
After suffering an ACL injury in the 2022 UEFA Women’s champions league final against Barcelona, Matilda fans will be relieved to see defender Ellie Carpenter named in the World Cup squad. Head Coach Tony Gustavsson has previously said (in the Matildas Disney+ documentary series) that “everyone knows that it’s just one Ellie Carpenter”. Ellie is an irreplaceable player in the squad, previously been to the World Cup in 2019 along with four other major tournaments. A versatile defender, Ellie Carpenter will be a key player for Australia this summer and definitely one to watch.
To read more Women’s World Cup related articles, click here.
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