Your Westfield Matildas 2019 World Cup squad guide: Midfielders

The FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019™ is almost upon us and Ante Milicic has announced his 23-player squad.

Here's a guide to the midfielders picked to represent the Westfield Matildas in France.

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Yallop
Tameka Yallop will continue to play a pivotal role for the Westfield Matildas

3. Aivi Luik

Date of birth: 18 March 1985 (34 years old)
Caps: 21
Debut: Friendly v New Zealand on 17 February 2010 in Auckland, New Zealand (3-0 win)
Clubs played for: Brescia University (ITA), Nevada Wolf Pack (USA), FC Indiana (USA), Brisbane Roar, Ottawa Fury (CAN), Brøndby IF (DEN), Perth Glory, Fylkir (ISL), Melbourne City, Notts County (ENG), Vålerenga (NOR), Kalmar (SWE), Levante (ESP)
Previous World Cups: None

Her 2019 so far:

After seven years away from international football, Aivi Luik has found herself back in the frame for the Westfield Matildas under Ante Milicic, following a successful season with Levante in Spain.

Luik has seen regular football with the Iberian side, helping them to a third-place finish behind Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga Femenina, and now looks set to make her World Cup debut at the age of 34.

She has been present in both of Milicic's squads so far, starting against Korea Republic in the Westfield Matildas' 4-1 win in the Cup of Nations and named on the bench for April's friendly in the USA.

Despite her lack of World Cup experience, the well-travelled Luik does bring to the table some history lifting trophies with Australia. She was part of the side that won the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup in China.

Luik
Nice to see you again: Aivi Luik in action at the Cup of Nations earlier this year

6. Chloe Logarzo

Date of birth: 22 December 1994 (24 years old)
Caps: 37
Debut: Friendly v China on 24 November 2013 in Wollongong (2-0 win)
Clubs played for: Sydney FC, Colorado Pride (USA), Newcastle Jets, North Shore Mariners, Eskilstuna United (SWE), Avaldsnes (NOR), Blacktown Spartans, Washington Spirit (USA)
Previous World Cups: None

Her 2019 so far:

Having been a part of Sydney FC's 2012/13 Westfield W-League Championship-winning side, Logarzo returned to the Harbour City in 2017 and helped the club claim their fifth piece of silverware in an entertaining 4-2 win over Perth Glory in the 2018/19 Westfield W-League Grand Final.

WATCH: Chloe Logarzo makes her presence felt in 2019's Westfield W-League Grand Final

Logarzo's sensational strike for the Sky Blues' fourth goal appeared on highlight reels across Australia, although an ankle injury picked up in the same match prevented her from linking up with the Westfield Matildas and new coach Ante Milicic for the Cup of Nations in late February.

Now fully recovered, the 24-year-old made her debut for the Washington Spirit last weekend, the attacking midfielder nearly providing the spark required to break the deadlock in the dying seconds.

8. Elise Kellond-Knight

Date of birth: 10 August 1990 (28 years old)
Caps: 106
Debut: Olympic Games qualifier v Hong Kong on 4 August 2007 in Hong Kong (8-1 win)
Clubs played for: Brisbane Roar, Fortuna Hjørring (DEN), Iga FC Kunoichi (JPN), FFC Turbine Potsdam (GER), Hammarby (SWE), Melbourne City, Reign FC (USA)
Previous World Cups: 2011, 2015

Her 2019 so far:

Kellond-Knight's years of quiet achievement are long in the past as the star defensive midfielder continues to pile up a lengthening list of accolades.

Emerging as a leader in her first season in the colours of Melbourne City in 2018/19, the well-travelled Gold Coaster – she has so far played her club football in six different countries – finally earned her first stint in the NWSL this season. She featured in three of a possible four matches for Reign FC before the World Cup interrupted.

With more than 100 caps for the Westfield Matildas to her name, and having made the all-star team at the 2011 and 2015 FIFA Women's World Cups, the 28-year-old is sure to once again be a driving force in midfield for the green and gold this time around.

Elise Kellond-Knight of Australia
Can Elise Kellond-Knight make it three World Cup all-star teams in a row in 2019?

10. Emily van Egmond

Date of birth: 12 July 1993 (25 years old)
Caps: 85
Debut: Friendly v DPR Korea on 6 March 2010 in Brisbane (3-2 win)
Clubs played for: Newcastle Jets, Canberra United, Fortuna Hjørring (DEN), Western New York Flash (USA), Seattle Reign (USA), Western Sydney Wanderers, Chicago Red Stars (USA), FFC Frankfurt (GER), VfL Wolfsburg (GER), Orlando Pride (USA)
Previous World Cups: 2011, 2015

Her 2019 so far:

Coming into her third World Cup, the skillful van Egmond is returning to peak physical condition at just the right time, having missed a chunk of the Westfield W-League season with an ankle injury.

She returned to feature in Ante Milicic's first Australia squad – for the Cup of Nations in late February-early March – before playing the full 90 minutes against the United States in April.

The 25-year-old playmaker then linked up with NWSL outfit Orlando Pride, starting regularly in the perfect tune-up for the fast-approaching FIFA Women's World Cup.

van Egmond
With 18 goals in 85 Westfield Matildas appearances, Emily van Egmond provides a threat from central midfield

13. Tameka Yallop

Date of birth: 16 June 1991 (27 years old)
Caps: 78
Debut: Olympic Games qualifier v Hong Kong on 4 August 2007 in Hong Kong (8-1 win)
Clubs played for: Queensland Academy of Sport, Brisbane Roar, Boston Breakers (USA), FFC Frankfurt (GER), Iga FC Kunoichi (JPN), Mallbackens (SWE), Klepp IL (NOR), Melbourne City
Previous World Cups: 2011, 2015

Her 2019 so far:

An uncharacteristically disappointing year for Yallop's Melbourne City failed to affect her own output, with the creative midfielder scoring three goals and providing four assists across the Westfield W-League 2018/19 Season.

After tying the knot with former New Zealand international Kirsty Yallop, the 27-year-old formerly known as Tameka Butt linked up for the third time with Norwegian side Klepp where she has started in each of her side's eight matches, striking four times in the process.

A mainstay in each of Milicic's previous Westfield Matildas squads, Australia has yet to lose a match in which she has scored – 10 occasions so far. 

WATCH: Tameka Yallop (née Butt) curls in a beauty for Melbourne City

19. Katrina Gorry

Date of birth: 13 August 1992 (26 years old)
Caps: 73
Debut: Friendly v Japan on 11 July 2012 in Tokyo, Japan (3-0 loss)
Clubs played for: Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United, Ottawa Fury (CAN), Brisbane Roar, FC Kansas City (USA), Vegalta Sendai (JPN), Utah Royals FC (USA)
Previous World Cups: 2015

Her 2019 so far:

A less-than-ideal start to Gorry's 2019 saw her sidelined for four months at the start of the year with a ruptured syndesmosis in her left leg.

Unable to don the orange of Brisbane from late December to the end of the 2018/19 Westfield W-League season, the 2014 AFC Women's Player of the Year would make a long-awaited return to the field as a substitute in the Westfield Matildas' most recent friendly, against the United States in Denver, Colorado, on April 4.

She has subsequently been working hard on her fitness and has convinced Ante Milicic that she is ready to be thrown into the World Cup fray.

Experience is likely to be pivotal in Milicic's plans for the tournament, and that is exactly what a fit and firing Katrina Gorry – who has scored 14 times in her 73 appearances for the national side – brings to the table.

Katrina Gorry
Katrina Gorry enjoyed her return to action with the Westfield Matildas in April

22. Amy Harrison

Date of birth: 21 April 1996 (23 years old)
Caps: 10
Debut: Friendly v New Zealand on 12 February 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand (3-2 win)
Clubs played for: Sydney FC, Washington Spirit (USA)
Previous World Cups: None

Her 2019 so far:

The former Westfield W-League Young Player of the Year (2014) enjoyed a successful season holding things together in the heart of midfield for Grand Final winners Sydney FC,  also playing in at left-back on occasion for Ante Juric's side, before moving to Washington Spirit for the 2019 NWSL campaign.

Selected by Ante Milicic for his first Westfield Matildas squad, she featured in all three matches in the Cup of Nations in late February and early March, doing enough to earn herself a seat on the plane to France. 

World Cup squad_Amy Harrison
Amy Harrison with Sam Kerr at the 2019 Cup of Nations

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