Four Queenslanders have been selected in Leah Blayney’s Young Matildas squad for the upcoming AFC U-19 Women’s Championship, which will be held in Chonburi, Thailand from 27 October to 9 November.
Hollie Palmer, Indiah-Paige Riley, Mary Fowler and Ciara Fowler along with the rest of the team will first head to Sydney to prepare for the tournament with a brief training camp before travelling to Chonburi on Monday, 21 October.
Riley made her Westfield W-League debut with Brisbane Roar during the 2018/19 season, while Palmer added to her two appearances from the 2017/18 season.
Sisters Ciara and Mary Fowler grew up in Trinity Beach and played their local football at Leichhardt FC, and recently signed for Adelaide United’s W-League side after playing at Bankstown City Lions.
Blayney said she had a lot of faith in the selected squad ahead of the tournament.
“We have spent the past three weeks holding a series of short but highly beneficial camps in Sydney,” Blayney explained.
“These camps have helped the coaching staff finalise our squad for the Asian Championship, which is the most prestigious tournament for females of this age group across our confederation.
“We believe that with the squad we have going to this tournament we are a strong chance of earning Australia qualification for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup for the first time since 2006,” Blayney said.
Australia will first play their Group A games against DPR Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Then, the top two teams from each of the two groups will advance to the semi-finals, with the top three sides at the tournament earning one of Asia’s qualification spots at next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Westfield Young Matildas 23-Player Squad | 2019 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship
| NAME |
| Morgan AQUINO (Gk) |
| Chelsea BLISSETT |
| Kyra COONEY-CROSS |
| Deborah DE LA HARPE |
| Shadeene EVANS |
| Ciara FOWLER |
| Mary FOWLER |
| Charlotte GRANT |
| Abbey GREEN |
| Annie GROVE (Gk) |
| Emily HODGSON |
| Angelique HRISTODOULOU |
| Princess IBINI |
| Aideen KEANE |
| Rachel LOWE |
| Claudia MIHOCIC |
| Teressa MORRISSEY (Gk) |
| Courtney NEVIN |
| Hollie PALMER |
| Susan PHONSONGKHAM |
| Indiah-Paige RILEY |
| Karly ROESTBAKKEN |
| Tessa TAMPLIN |
Westfield Young Matildas Upcoming Matches for 2019 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship
DPR Korea v Westfield Young Matildas
Date: Sunday, 27 October 2019
Location: IPE Stadium, Chonburi, Thailand
Kick-off: 4.00pm (local); 8.00pm (AEDT)
Westfield Young Matildas v Thailand
Date: Wednesday, 30 October 2019
Location: Chonburi Stadium, Chonburi, Thailand
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local); 11.00pm (AEDT)
Westfield Young Matildas v Vietnam
Date: Saturday, 2 November 2019
Location: IPE Chonburi Stadium, Chonburi, Thailand
Kick-off: 4.00pm (local); 8.00pm (AEDT)
