CommBank Young Matildas head coach Leah Blayney will today kick off the new U-20 Women's National Team cycle with a six-day training camp in Blacktown, Sydney.
Blayney has assembled a 31-player squad featuring returning players who participated in August's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022™, members of the 2022 AFF U-18 Women's championship-winning side and some fresh faces in the new national team set-up.
"It is tremendously exciting to start a new cycle with the CommBank Young Matildas," said Blayney. "The performances of the players at last month's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup™ demonstrated just how much talent there is in Australian women's football, and I can't wait to start harnessing the next cohort."
"Being our first camp of this cycle, we're bringing together some of the players we have identified in various spaces over the last 12-18 months. It has been an extensive search with players coming from NPL competitions across the country, 2021/2022 Liberty A-League Women's environments, school football championships and those who have previously performed well during national team call-ups."
"This really is a further talent identification opportunity for us and where we can lay some groundwork for what players require in their home environments to ensure when they enter the national team, they are in a position to perform at their best."
Players born on or after 1 January 2004 are age-eligible for the biennial FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup™ with the next edition held in 2024. The first training camp features 10 players in 2004, 11 in 2005 and 10 in 2006.
September's initial squad compromises of players from seven different Member Federations with 13 players currently committed to A-League Women's sides for the 2022/23 season.
COMMBANK YOUNG MATILDAS SQUAD | TRAINING CAMP | 25 - 30 SEPT 2022
| Name |
Position |
Club / Member Federation |
| Ella ABDUL MASSIH |
Midfielder |
Western Sydney Wanderers FC / Football NSW |
| Claire ADAMS |
Forward |
Newcastle Jets FC / Northern NSW Football |
| Josie ALLAN |
Forward |
Newcastle Jets FC / Northern NSW Football |
| Alexia APOSTOLAKIS |
Defender |
Western Sydney Wanderers / Football NSW |
| Tegan BERTOLISSIO |
Defender |
Football NSW Institute / Football NSW |
| Ava BRIEDIS |
Midfielder |
Melbourne Victory FC / Football Victoria |
| Georgia CASSIDY |
Midfielder |
Football West NTC / Football West |
| Amy CHESSARI |
Midfielder |
Football NSW Institute / Football NSW |
| Naomi CHINNAMA |
Defender |
Melbourne City FC / Football Victoria |
| Claudia CICCO |
Defender |
APIA Leichhardt FC / Football NSW |
| Sasha COOREY |
Midfielder |
SA NTC / Football South Australia |
| Heidi DENNIS |
Defender |
Football Queensland-QAS / Football Queensland |
| Jynaya DOS SANTOS |
Forward |
Sydney FC / Football NSW |
| Gemma FERRIS |
Defender |
Football NSW Institute / Football NSW |
| Tahlia FRANCO |
Goalkeeper |
Football NSW Institute / Football NSW |
| Daniela GALIC |
Midfielder |
Football NSW Institute / Football NSW |
| Sasha GROVE |
Forward |
Canberra United FC / Capital Football |
| Kahli JOHNSON |
Forward |
Western United / Football NSW |
| Caitlin KARIC |
Forward |
FV Emerging Matildas / Football Victoria |
| Zoe KARIPIDIS |
Defender |
Newcastle Jets FC / Northern NSW Football |
| Zara KRUGER |
Midfielder |
Lions FC / Football Queensland |
| Tanika LALA |
Forward |
Football West NTC / Football West |
| Maya LOBO |
Defender |
Football NSW Institute / Football NSW |
| Chloe LINCOLN |
Goalkeeper |
Canberra United FC / Capital Football |
| Tijan MCKENNA |
Midfielder |
Heidelberg United FC / Football West |
| Emilia MURRAY |
Forward |
Adelaide United FC / Football South Australia |
| Silver-Bell MORRIS |
Defender |
Western United FC / Football Victoria |
| Ella O'GRADY |
Forward |
Football Queensland-QAS / Football Queensland |
| Sienna SAVESKA |
Midfielder |
Football NSW Institute / Football NSW |
| Peta TRIMIS |
Defender |
Football NSW Institute / Football NSW |
| Grace WILSON |
Goalkeeper |
SA NTC / Football South Australia |
