Australia’s national women’s soccer team the Matildas will be competing at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics with a squad of 18 players.
WATCH NOW: Sam Kerr scores a goal at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
After securing their spot at the world’s biggest international sporting event in March at the Olympic qualifiers after a spectacular defeat of Uzbekistan in a two-match series, the team is now in the thick of training for the Paris 2024 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament which kicks off on July 24th.
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As part of this training, the team will take on both the People’s Republic of China and Mexico, providing Head Coach Tony Gustavsson the opportunity to keep testing his team.
“When I started with the CommBank Matildas we identified a need to continue challenging ourselves against different types of [soccer] styles, and opponents and experiencing high-quality matches that allow us to strive to get one day better,” he said when the three matches were first announced.
“Every match we schedule is deliberate and is key to our bigger picture of preparing the team for global tournaments and to take on the best teams in the world.”
Later that same month, Tony said narrowing down the selection for the squad would be a real strategic challenge.
“It’s always tough with selection as a head coach, especially when you work with players for such a long time. And you know that there’s more players that actually qualify for selection than I can select,” he shared in a press conference.
“But in terms of oppositions, we’re going to base the selection more of who we are and what tools we need, more so than the opposition.”
Which players are in the Matildas Olympic Squad?
While it is unlikely the squad will be confirmed until the friendly matches against the People’s Republic of China and Mexico have taken place, we do have an inkling about which players will not be in the squad.
After rupturing her ACL in January 2024 during a Chelsea FC training camp, it is unlikely captain and star striker Sam Kerr will have recovered in time to play at the Olympics.
In March, midfielder Katrina Gorry injured her ankle, with Clare Hunt and Courtney Nevin also sidelined by injuries of their own with “no current return to play timeline.”
If a timely recovery is not possible, it is likely younger players will be given the opportunity to prove themselves on the biggest sporting stage of all.
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