Four Brisbane Roar stars have been selected by Westfield Matildas Head Coach Alen Stajcic for the upcoming Algarve Cup in Portugal beginning on 1 March 2017.
Captain Clare Polkinghorne, goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, midfielder Katrina Gorry and forward Emily Gielnik have been named in the 21-player squad, selected following a three-day camp in Canberra.
Polkinghorne, Arnold and Gorry all represented the Westfield Matildas at the Rio Games in August while Gielnik returns to the squad for the first time since the Rio Games qualification tournament earlier in 2016.
“As I’ve stated before we’re heading into a new cycle so there is an increase on the competition for places and we’re looking for who can provide that extra depth and quality,” Stajcic said.
“Having positions covered by more players and building that depth is really what we’re looking for.”
Katrina Gorry’s (below) next apperance for the national side will be her 50th Westfield Matildas cap while Clare Polkinghorne is closing in on 100 national caps.
“Increasing the experience and capacity of players who have been in the team for a long time and continuing to improve them both on and off the field is certainly something we’ve spoken about this week in terms of improving the quality of the squad from within as the first port of call.”
The squad will assemble in Sydney’s west for a training camp on Monday prior to departing for Portugal on Wednesday night.
Currently 6th in the FIFA women’s world rankings, the Westfield Matildas have been grouped alongside Sweden (ranked 8th), Netherlands (ranked 12th) and China P.R. (ranked 13th) for the tournament.
“This tournament is a starting point towards looking ahead to the Asian Cup next year, the World Cup the year after and then the Games in Tokyo in 2020,” said Stajcic.
“We’re really looking to test the players and see who is going to be part of this squad moving forward. The Algarve Cup gives us four matches against high quality opponents and I’m sure the team will learn and grow a lot from competing in this tournament.”
The Westfield Matildas’ first match of the Algarve Cup is against Sweden on Wednesday 1 March at 6.30pm local time (5.30am AEDT, Thursday 2 March).
|
Name |
Date of Birth |
Club |
A International Caps (Goals) |
|
Teigen Allen |
12/02/1994 |
Melbourne City FC |
39 (0) |
|
Mackenzie Arnold (gk) |
25/02/1994 |
Brisbane Roar FC |
11 (0) |
|
Ellie Carpenter |
28/04/2000 |
Western Sydney Wanderers FC |
5 (0) |
|
Steph Catley |
26/01/1994 |
Melbourne City FC |
53 (2) |
|
Emma Checker |
11/03/1996 |
Canberra United |
3 (0) |
|
Alex Chidiac |
15/01/1999 |
Adelaide United |
1 (0) |
|
Lisa De Vanna |
14/11/1984 |
Canberra United |
117 (40) |
|
Caitlin Foord |
11/11/1994 |
Sydney FC |
50 (8) |
|
Emily Gielnik |
13/05/1992 |
Brisbane Roar FC |
9 (1) |
|
Katrina Gorry |
13/08/1992 |
Brisbane Roar FC |
49 (13) |
|
Amy Harrison |
21/04/1996 |
Sydney FC |
3 (0) |
|
Elise Kellond-Knight* |
10/08/1990 |
FC Turbine Potsdam, Germany |
76 (1) |
|
Alanna Kennedy |
21/01/1995 |
Sydney FC |
48 (2) |
|
Sam Kerr |
10/09/1993 |
Perth Glory |
46 (8) |
|
Chloe Logarzo |
22/12/1994 |
Newcastle Jets |
12 (0) |
|
Clare Polkinghorne |
1/02/1989 |
Brisbane Roar FC |
92 (7) |
|
Hayley Raso |
5/09/1994 |
Canberra United |
14 (1) |
|
Gema Simon |
19/07/1990 |
Newcastle Jets |
5 (0) |
|
Kyah Simon |
25/06/1991 |
Sydney FC |
70 (20) |
|
Emily van Egmond* |
12/07/1993 |
VfL Wolfsburg, Germany |
57 (14) |
|
Lydia Williams (gk) |
13/05/1988 |
Melbourne City FC |
57 (0) |
Algarve Cup 2017 – Westfield Matildas matches
Group C
Westfield Matildas
China P.R.
Netherlands
Sweden
Westfield Matildas v Sweden
1 March 2017
Albufeira, Portugal
Kick-Off: 6.30pm local time (5.30am AEDT, 2 March)
Westfield Matildas v Netherlands
3 March 2017
Vila Real Sto Antonio, Portugal
Kick-Off: 3.00pm local time (2.00am AEDT, 4 March)
China P.R. v Westfield Matildas
6 March 2017
Albufeira, Portugal
Kick-Off: 3.00pm local time (2.00am AEDT, 7 March)
