Westfield Matildas squad announced for Korea Republic match

Westfield Matildas Head Coach Alen Stajcic has named a 20-player squad for a one off international against Korea Republic in what is set to be the squad’s final official hit out before February’s all-important Olympic qualifying tournament.

With limited opportunities to test themselves against quality international opposition before the qualifiers in Japan, the match against Korea Republic in Incheon on Sunday 29 November 2015 will provide the Westfield Matildas with some crucial match practise ahead of an extremely difficult Olympic qualifying campaign.

The squad that will head to Incheon comprises six players with less than ten Westfield Matildas appearances, while there are six that have played over 50 ‘A’ internationals.

German based duo Emily van Egmond and Elise Kellond-Knight, who has been shortlisted for the 2015 AFC Women’s Player of the Year, will join up with the squad in Incheon.

Perth Glory forward Samantha Kerr is one player who will be missing from the squad after she suffered a foot injury in the Westfield W-League last weekend.

Kerr’s absence opens up a spot for 20 year old midfielder Chloe Logarzo, who has been rewarded for her impressive form for the Newcastle Jets in the Westfield W-League this season.

Chloe Logarzo

“Our recent trip to China for matches against England and China showed we have a lot of work to do before February and we need to make the most of this chance to get the squad together and play against a nation that will also be fighting it out for one of the two Olympic spots,” Stajcic said.

“A number of the girls have been doing well in the W-League this season but it all goes up to another level when you play internationals so this trip will give us an indication of how we are tracking with our preparations and also find out which players really want to push their claims to be part of the Olympic qualifiers.”

“We need to keep building and developing more depth in the squad to make sure we’ve got healthy competition for places which in turn will push players to keep getting better and not rest on their laurels.”

The Australian based players will depart for Incheon on Tuesday 24 November and return home on 1 December. The match against Korea Republic on 29 November 2015 kicks off at 4.15pm AEDT.

Westfield Matildas squad – Korea Republic Trip

Korea Republic v Westfield Matildas

Sunday 29 November 2015

Incheon Stadium, Incheon

Kick-Off: 2:15pm local time (4:15pm AEDT)

Name

Date of Birth

Position

Club

A International Caps (Goals)

Laura Alleway

28/11/1989

Defender

Melbourne City FC

38 (2)

Tara Andrews

13/03/1994

Forward

Newcastle Jets

1 (0)

Mackenzie Arnold (gk)

25/02/1994

Goalkeeper

Perth Glory

7 (0)

Tameka Butt

16/06/1991

Midfielder

Brisbane Roar

51 (7)

Stephanie Catley

26/01/1994

Defender

Melbourne City FC

41 (2)

Larissa Crummer

10/01/1996

Forward

Melbourne City FC

8 (1)

Lisa De Vanna

14/11/1984

Forward

Melbourne City FC

105 (37)

Caitlin Foord

11/11/1994

Forward

Perth Glory

37 (5)

Katrina Gorry

13/08/1992

Midfielder

Brisbane Roar

37 (11)

Amy Harrison

21/04/1996

Midfielder

Sydney FC

2 (0)

Michelle Heyman

4/07/1988

Forward

Canberra United

41 (15)

Elise Kellond-Knight

10/08/1990

Midfielder

Potsdam FC (Germany)

64 (1)

Alanna Kennedy

21/01/1995

Midfielder

Sydney FC

36 (0)

Chloe Logarzo

22/12/1994

Midfielder

Newcastle Jets

2 (0)

Caitlin Munoz

4/10/1983

Forward

Canberra United

56 (13)

Clare Polkinghorne

1/02/1989

Defender

Brisbane Roar

80 (5)

Kyah Simon

25/06/1991

Forward

Sydney FC

57 (14)

Emily van Egmond

12/07/1993

Midfielder

FFC Frankfurt (Germany)

46 (11)

Lydia Williams (gk)

13/05/1988

Goalkeeper

Canberra United

48 (0)

Georgia Yeoman-Dale

24/02/1994

Midfielder

Newcastle Jets

4 (0)