Squad named for Seven Consulting International Series

Tony Gustavsson has named a 24-player CommBank Matildas squad to face world number two, Sweden, and AFC compatriots Thailand in the Seven Consulting International Series next month. 

Australia will host the Blågult at AAMI Park on Saturday, 12 November before travelling up to the Central Coast to take on the Thais at Central Coast Stadium on Tuesday, 15 November in their final international for 2022. 

After being injury hit last FIFA Women’s International Window, the CommBank Matildas will welcome back several players including goalkeeper Lydia Williams, midfielders Clare Wheeler, Emily van Egmond and Elise Kellond-Knight and defender Alanna Kennedy.

The Swedish-based Kellond-Knight returns to the national team after a long-term injury kept her out of the team for over 12 months. Stanford University’s Amy Sayer’s strong college season earns a recall for the second time in 2022. Meanwhile, West Ham United goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold has been ruled out after sustaining a calf injury while on club duty. It sees Sydney FC’s Jada Whyman join the camp for the second time this year.

“Coming together for the first time since we learned of our FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ opponents brings a different and sharper focus to the next set of games,” said Gustavsson.  “As always, in selecting the squad we've kept a close eye on their performances in club land. There are a few more players available which is great news as they come back from injury having recorded some good game time.”

“We said all the way back ahead of our September camp that we wanted to keep our squad a little bit more consistent these last camps going into the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™.  For this camp, you see a core group of players returning, for the third camp in a row since September, and then a few players coming back in and it's well-deserved for those who have come back.

“We saw in October that some things are starting to come together, and this is a chance to continue measuring ourselves against the second-best team in the world who beat France in October.  They're in good form as well so it’s a huge opportunity for us to see what we need to keep improving.

“The second game against Thailand, we get a great opportunity to compare where are we now versus when we played Thailand at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.  These are two good games, played in two fantastic venues and cities, to evaluate where we are in our journey.” 

This window could see a significant milestone for CommBank Matildas stalwart Clare Polkinghorne with the defender in line to become only the third Australian footballer to record 150 appearances for the women’s or men’s national team. 

Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+ will broadcast these internationals on Saturday afternoon and Tuesday night. 

SEVEN CONSULTING INTERNATIONAL SERIES

CommBank Matildas v Sweden
Date: Saturday, 12 November 2022
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Kick-Off: 2:45 pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+

CommBank Matildas v Thailand
Date: Tuesday, 15 November 2022
Location: Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Kick-off: 7.30 pm AEDT
Broadcast: 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+

Tickets: https://www.matildas.com.au/tickets

COMMBANK MATILDAS SQUAD | NOVEMBER FIFA INTERNATIONAL WINDOW