Head coach Leah Blayney has named the 21 players who will represent Australia at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2022™ and has included Canberra United goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln.
Lincoln, who recently signed for Canberra United for two more seasons, has been named to take part in the event which will see Australia play hosts Costa Rica, Brazil and Spain in their group matches.
The squad has been finalised following the completion of the Young Matildas pre-tournament training camp in Mexico City which included a training match against Club Universidad Nacional Femenil and closed door international friendly against the Mexico U20 Women’s National Team.
Australia’s final squad features a strong A-League Women’s presence with 17 players recording match minutes during the 2021/22 season. The 21 players represent six Member Federations with all players born on or after January 1, 2002.
Blayney has been able to call upon the majority of the group who have featured throughout the Young Matildas preparation that has seen members of the squad participate in April and June’s internationals against New Zealand, the AFF Women’s Championships 2022 in July and a host of training camps.
Speaking of the squad selection, Blayney said: “As we anticipated when we named the extended squad, selecting the final 21-players has been made extremely difficult due to the quality of play and application displayed by the playing group.
“While it is a young final squad that we have selected, it is a talented squad with a mix of high technical ability, ever increasing tactical maturity and the heart and desire that are indicative of Australian teams. This is a squad that has the opportunity to demonstrate their quality on the global stage.”
“Over the course of our preparations we have called in over 85 players and every player called in has assisted us in getting to this moment and made my task challenging. I want to thank each player that has represented the U20s since 2020 as they have played a vital part in our road to Costa Rica.”
“Having been on this journey together since March, this is a unified squad of players and staff who are committed and enthusiastic about representing our nation to the best of their ability. There is a togetherness that will be invaluable for us in this tournament against some world class nations in our group.”
With the World Cup squad finalised, Australia will now depart for Costa Rica on 1 August with a final tune up against Colombia on 5 August.
Squad Notes
• The average age of the 21 confirmed players at the time of the first game will 18.2 years old, ranging in age from 16 (Alexia Apostolakis and Daniela Galic) to 20 (Sheridan Gallagher).
• Australia’s squad comprises of four players born in 2002, eight born in 2003, four born in 2004, two in2005 and two in 2006.
• Australia has played in three previous FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup tournaments in 2002, 2004and 2006.
• The 21 players represent six Member Federations from Football NSW (12), Capital Football (2), Football Victoria (2), Football West (2), Northern NSW Football (2) and Football South Australia (1).
• 17 squad members played match minutes in the 2021/22 A-League Women’s season with all ten A-League Women’s clubs from that season represented: Adelaide United (2), Brisbane Roar (1), Canberra United (1), Melbourne City (2), Melbourne Victory (1), Newcastle Jets (1), Perth Glory (1), Sydney FC (4), Wellington Phoenix (1) and Western Sydney Wanderers (3).
• The Young Matildas squad has a combined 238 A-League Women’s appearances at an average of 14 appearances per player.
• Five of Australia’s FIFA U20 Women’s World 2022™ selected squad members were born in regional areas, the remaining 16 born in capital cities.
AUSTRALIA U-20 WNT | MATCH SCHEDULE | GROUP A
Costa Rica v Australia
Date: Wednesday, 10 August 2022 (local)/ Thursday, 11 August 2022 (AEST)
Venue: Estadio Nacional, San Jose
Kick-Off: 8:00 pm CST (local)/ 12:00pm (AEST)
Broadcast: SBS and SBS On Demand
Brazil v Australia
Date: Saturday, 13 August 2022 (local)/ Sunday, 14 August 2022 (AEST)
Venue: Morera Soto, Alajuela
Kick-Off: 2:00 pm CST (local)/ 6:00am (AEST)
Broadcast: SBS and SBS On Demand
Australia v Spain
Date: Tuesday, 16 August 2022 (local)/ Wednesday, 17 August 2022 (AEST)
Venue: Morera Soto, Alajuela
Kick-Off: 8:00 pm CST (local)/ 12:00pm (AEST)
Broadcast: SBS and SBS On Demand
