The Matildas are all set to begin their AFC Women’s Asian Cup campaign against Indonesia at 9pm tonight (AEDT) at Mumbai Football Arena.
With less than 24 hours until kick off, head coach Tony Gustavsson and vice-captain Steph Catley faced the media virtually to discuss the tournament opener in the inaugural meeting between the two nations.
For Gustavsson it will be his first experience of the Women’s Asian Cup and he expressed his anticipation at starting the campaign positively following months of lead up.
“We’re obviously really excited to be here and we can’t wait until our game,” he said.
“I really trust the preparation. It’s not because of me, it’s because all the staff and the players that I have around me that have educated me and helped me to prepare for this tournament.
“We’ve had a really good pre-camp and the team is in a really good place physically, mentally, and we’re really excited to get this started.”
Meanwhile Catley, who is just four matches away from a century milestone with the national team, spoke about the learnings the squad will take into this Women’s Asian Cup following a history making Tokyo 2020 Olympics tournament.
“We’ve played a lot of major tournaments and we’ve seen to slowly progress into a position where we made it a little bit further and obviously got the opportunity to play off for a bronze medal, which was big for our team,” Catley said.
“But it was also very disappointing because we’re a hungry team, and we feel that the quality that we have and the experience that we have, we can be challenging for medals and trophies.
“This is a really great opportunity for us, and I think we learned a lot from that experience at the Olympics. It’s going to hold us in good stead for getting further in this tournament and hopefully achieving something amazing.”
All Matildas matches will be broadcast live on Network 10 and streamed via 10 Play in Australia.
Matildas AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group Stage Matches
Matildas v Indonesia
Date: Friday, 21 January 2022
Venue: Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai
Kick-off: 3.30pm (local), 9pm (AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and Exclusive on Network 10 and 10 Play
Philippines v Matildas
Date: Monday, 24 January 2022
Venue: Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai
Kick-off: 3.30pm (local), 9pm (AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and Exclusive on Network 10 and 10 Play
Matildas v Thailand
Date: Thursday, 27 January 2022 / Friday, 28 January 2022
Venue: Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai
Kick-off: 7.30pm (local), 01:00am (AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and Exclusive on Network 10 and 10 Play
Commonwealth Bank Matildas Squad
| Name | Position | Club | Caps (goals) | Junior Club / Member Fed |
| Mackenzie ARNOLD | Goalkeeper | West Ham United | 27 (0) | Burleigh / Football QLD |
| Ellie CARPENTER | Back | Lyon | 54 (1) | Cowra and District / Football NSW |
| Steph CATLEY | Back | Arsenal WFC | 96 (3) | East Bentleigh, SE Cougars / Football Victoria |
| Kyra COONEY-CROSS | Midfielder | Melbourne Victory | 14 (0) | Ballarat City / Football Victoria |
| Caitlin FOORD | Forward | Arsenal WFC | 95 (21) | Warilla Wanderers / Football NSW |
| Mary FOWLER | Forward | Montpellier | 20 (5) | Leichhardt / Football QLD |
| Emily GIELNIK | Forward | Aston Villa | 50 (11) | Redlands United / Football QLD |
| Charlotte GRANT | Back | FC Rosengård | 3 (0) | Cumberland United Women’s FC / Football South Australia |
| Alanna KENNEDY | Back | Manchester City | 102 (8) | Campbelltown Cobras / Football NSW |
| Sam KERR | Forward | Chelsea | 104 (49) | Western Knights / Football West |
| Aivi LUIK | Back | Pomigliano | 33 (0) | Palm Beach SC / Football QLD |
| Holly McNAMARA | Forward | Melbourne City | 0 (0) | Ermington United Sports and Recreation Club / Football NSW |
| Teagan MICAH | Goalkeeper | FC Rosengård | 8 (0) | Brisbane Blue, Brisbane Central / Football QLD |
| Courtney NEVIN | Back | Melbourne Victory | 7 (0) | Oakville Ravens / Football NSW |
| Clare POLKINGHORNE | Back | Vittsjö GIK | 138 (12) | Wynnum Wolves, Capalaba / Football QLD |
| Hayley RASO | Forward | Manchester City | 58 (6) | Banora Point / Football QLD |
| Remy SIEMSEN | Forward | Sydney FC | 2 (0) | Manly United / Football NSW |
| Kyah SIMON | Forward | Tottenham Hotspur | 105 (27) | Quakers Hill, Hills Brumbies / Football NSW |
| Emily VAN EGMOND | Midfielder | Newcastle Jets (on loan) | 112 (23) | Dudley-Redhead / Northern NSW Football |
| Cortnee VINE | Forward | Sydney FC | 0 (0) | Peninsula Power FC / Football QLD |
| Clare WHEELER | Midfielder | Fortuna Hjørring | 5 (0) | Adamstown Rosebud / Northern NSW Football |
| Lydia WILLIAMS | Goalkeeper | Arsenal WFC | 95 (0) | Tuggeranong, Woden Valley / Capital Football |
| Tameka YALLOP | Midfielder | West Ham United | 101 (11) | Mudgeeraba / Football QLD |
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