Wanderers Alexia Apostolakis, Gemma Ferris and Sienna Saveska have been named in CommBank Young Matildas head coach Leah Blayney’s 24-player squad set to begin building for the 2024 U20 Women’s Asian Cup Round 2 Qualifiers with a training camp in Canberra.
Held at the Australian Institute of Sport, the six-day assembly will be the first for the Australian U-20 Women’s National Team since their path to Uzbekistan was made clearer earlier this month.
The CommBank Young Matildas will face Lebanon, IR Iran and Vietnam after they were drawn in Group A for June’s qualifiers with the top two teams heading to the Finals in 2024.
Blayney squad: “Now that our opponents are confirmed for the Round 2 Qualifiers, we will step up our preparations to ensure we are as best prepared to take on three challenging nations in our group.”
“For this camp we are pleased to bring back a majority of the players that demonstrated their professionalism in ensuring we secured passage to Round 2, and we look to continue evolving our play for the next set of matches.”
21 players were involved in April’s Round 1 Qualifiers in the Kyrgyz Republic with two new players joining that contingent including defender Naomi Chinnama who returns from injury. The squad includes a host of players currently making their mark in the A-League Women’s competition. There is also solid representation from regional Australia, with five players hailing from country centres.
“This squad highlights the quality of players across Australia and demonstrates that we will reward quality performances no matter where a player is from,” Blayney continued.
“The priority for us in this camp will be picking up where we left off, while looking to provide a solid platform for the Round 2 Qualifiers.” she concluded.
Several Canberra-based players will be brought into camp for invaluable training experience in the youth national team set up.
Follow along with the CommBank Young Matildas via matildas.com.au to stay up to date on all fixtures, squad announcements and news.
Football Australia acknowledges the Australian Sports Commission in supporting the high-performance pillar of our Legacy ’23 Plan, designed to provide pathways to foster competitive depth in the Women’s National Team Programs.
COMMBANK YOUNG MATILDAS SQUAD | TRAINING CAMP | 3 – 8 APRIL
| NAME | POSITION | CLUB | MEMBER FEDERATION |
| Alexia APOSTOLAKIS | Defender | Western Sydney Wanderers | Football NSW |
| Tegan BERTOLISSIO | Defender | Macarthur Rams | Football NSW |
| Ava BRIEDIS | Midfielder | Melbourne Victory FC | Football Victoria |
| Claudia CICCO | Forward | Wellington Phoenix FC | Football NSW |
| Jynaya DOS SANTOS | Forward | Sydney FC | Football NSW |
| Gemma FERRIS | Defender | Western Sydney Wanderers | Football NSW |
| Tahlia FRANCO | Goalkeeper | Sydney FC | Football NSW |
| Daniela GALIC | Midfielder | Melbourne City FC | Football NSW |
| Lara GOOCH | Forward | Newcastle Jets FC | Northern NSW Football |
| Sasha GROVE | Forward | Canberra United FC | Capital Football |
| Shay HOLLMAN | Midfielder | Sydney FC | Football NSW |
| Kahli JOHNSON | Forward | Western United | Football NSW |
| Zara KRUGER | Midfielder | Brisbane Roar FC | Football Queensland |
| Chloe LINCOLN | Goalkeeper | Canberra United Academy | Football NSW |
| Maya LOBO | Defender | Macarthur Rams | Football NSW |
| Tijan MCKENNA | Defender | Perth Glory FC | Football West |
| Alana MURPHY | Midfielder | Melbourne Victory FC | Football Victoria |
| Emilia MURRAY | Forward | Adelaide United FC | Football South Australia |
| Jessika NASH | Defender | Melbourne Victory FC | Football NSW |
| Ella O’GRADY | Forward | Football Queensland-QAS | Football Queensland |
| Sienna SAVESKA | Forward | Western Sydney Wanderers | Football NSW |
| Anika STAJCIC | Forward | Sydney FC | Football NSW |
| Naomi CHINNAMA | Defender | Melbourne City FC | Football Victoria |
| Grace WILSON | Goalkeeper | Adelaide United FC | Football South Australia |
AFC U20 WOMEN’S ASIAN CUP | ROUND 2 QUALIFIERS – GROUP A
Australia v Lebanon
Date: June 2023
Time: TBD
IR Iran v Australia
Date: June 2023
Time: TBD
Australia v Vietnam
Date: June 2023
Time: TBD
