Veteran forward Kyah Simon has made the cut for the Matildas' final 23-player squad for the 2023 Women's World Cup after recovering from a knee injury that kept her out for the past nine months.
Key points:
- Kyah Simon's return headlines the Matildas squad for this month's Women's World Cup
- Simon tore her ACL playing for Tottenham last October but has earned selection as Tony Gustavsson's supersub
- Australia will open their campaign against Ireland on July 20
Simon is one of the few surprise inclusions in Tony Gustavsson's roster, which will once again be led by captain Sam Kerr and vice-captain Steph Catley, who will each be appearing at their third consecutive World Cup.
They'll be joined by a number of other experienced players under injury clouds including Caitlin Foord, Alanna Kennedy, Tameka Yallop, Katrina Gorry, Aivi Luik, Mackenzie Arnold, Hayley Raso, and Emily Van Egmond, while goalkeeper Lydia Williams and centre-back Clare Polkinghorne will become the first two Australians to participate in five World Cups.
In total, 15 of the players who took part in the 2019 tournament in France will return for their home tournament, while seven will be making their debuts.
Courtney Nevin, Alex Chidiac, Clare Wheeler, Cortnee Vine, Clare Hunt, Charlotte Grant and Kyra Cooney-Cross — all of whom have been folded into the Matildas squad over the past two years — have all been selected, with Hunt a particular stand-out having played just five times for Australia since the start of the year.
Simon looked almost certain to miss her home World Cup after tearing her ACL while playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the English Women's Super League last October, but Gustavsson confirmed she had recovered enough to be a "game-changing" substitute off the bench over the course of the tournament.
"She's not selected based on where she is right now, she's selected based on where we're thinking she comes in a month from now," he said during the squad announcement media conference on Monday.
"She has a phenomenal connection with not just Sam [Kerr], but all the players. There's an understanding and a history there on the pitch that we've seen multiple times.
"The last time I saw it was in the Olympics when she was behind a lot of our goals. So she's based on being a game changer.
"I've been very clear to Kyah, I don't expect her to start the game, I don't think she's going to be ready for that, but the game changer off the bench."
There was no room for Chloe Logarzo, Larissa Crummer, Emily Gielnik, Amy Sayer, Remy Siemsen or Jada Whyman, but Gustavsson confirmed the players will continue to train with the squad as potential injury replacements, which can occur up to 24 hours before the opening match day on July 20.
The Matildas will face the Republic of Ireland in their first match at a sold-out Stadium Australia in Sydney on July 20 before taking on Nigeria in Brisbane on July 27 and Canada in Melbourne on July 31.
They'll face European heavyweights France in their final send-off match in Melbourne on July 14.
FULL MATILDAS SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Mackenzie Arnold, Teagan Micah, Lydia Williams
Defenders: Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Charlotte Grant, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Aivi Luik, Courtney Nevin, Clare Polkinghorne
Midfielders: Alex Chidiac, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Katrina Gorry, Emily van Egmond, Clare Wheeler, Tameka Yallop
Forwards: Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Sam Kerr, Hayley Raso, Kyah Simon, Cortnee Vine.
[ABC.net]