The Matildas’ squad for the Rio 2016 Olympics has been announced with 16-year-old Ellie Carpenter one of the eighteen footballers to represent Australia in women’s football.
These Games will be the Matildas first Olympic appearance since the 2004 Athens Games.
The squad contains co-captains Lisa De Vanna and Clare Polkinghorne – the former is the only member of the squad still playing from the team that competed at the Athens Games in 2004.
Sam Kerr has also been named in the squad, recovering from the foot injury which kept her out of the qualifying tournament.
There is a mixture of players from both the W-League and women’s leagues in America and across Europe with stars like Kyah Simon, Michelle Heyman and Steph Catley all included.
With an average squad age of 23 and a half, Matildas fans can be excited that this golden generation of players has plenty of football in front of them.
The Matildas have had a stellar 12 months with their historic run in the Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2015 seeing them become the first senior Australian football team to win a knockout game at a World Cup.
This was followed by an impressive Olympic qualifying tournament which saw them unbeaten against Asia’s best.
The positive build up means both the playing and coaching staff are confident about their chances in Rio.
After finishing fifth in their last Olympic appearance, medalling is the main aim of the squad.
“Obviously gold is what everyone is fighting for and dreams about but if we come back with any medal it would a massive boost for women’s football in Australia.” said co-captain De Vanna.
Currently sitting fifth in the world rankings, coach Alen Stajcic believes it’s time for the team to show just how world class they are.
“We’ve shown in the past 12 months or so that we’re a competitive team now on the world stage and it’s up to us now to prove that we can take that next step and genuinely compete for medals,” Stajcic said
Before the Games kick off, the Matildas will play a warm up match against Brazil before beginning their Olympic campaign with matches against Canada, Germany and Zimbabwe – a challenging group according to Stajcic.
“We are in a very tough group with Canada being the reigning bronze medallists, Germany are a powerhouse and Zimbabwe are a bit of an unknown but having come through the African qualifiers we know they will be tough, powerful and unpredictable.”
The Matildas first match of the Olympics is on August 4th AEST.
The full 18 woman squad is below:
Laura Alleway
Mackenzie Arnold
Tameka Butt
Ellie Carpenter
Steph Catley
Larissa Crummer
Lisa De Vanna
Caitlin Foord
Katrina Gorry
Michelle Heyman
Elise Kellond-Knight
Alanna Kennedy
Sam Kerr
Chloe Logarzo
Clare Polkinghorne
Kyah Simon
Emily Van Egmond
Lydia Williams
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