Paris 2024 Olympics football: Steph Catley to lead 18-member Matildas squad
Veteran midfielder Katrina Gorry suffered an injury in March but has been included in the squad. Four Aussies are set to make their Olympic debuts.
An 18-member Australian women’s football team for the Paris 2024 Olympics was announced at Sydney Olympic Park on Tuesday.
The Matildas squad, announced by Australian Olympic Team’s Chef de Mission and former track cyclist Anna Meares, will be led by the 30-year-old Stephanie Catley, who will be making her third Olympic appearance.
Vice-captain Emily van Egmond, Mackenzie Arnold, Ellie Carpenter, Caitlin Foord, Alanna Kennedy, Clare Polkinghorne and Tameka Yallop will also become three-time Olympians in Paris.
Veteran midfielder Katrina Gorry was in doubt for the Paris 2024 Olympics after suffering an ankle injury in March but has recovered in time to make the squad for her second Olympic Games.
Superstar captain Sam Kerr, the all-time leading goalscorer for Matildas, will not travel to France due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Cortnee Vine, who scored the deciding penalty for Australia at the FIFA World Cup quarter-final against France last year, will make her Olympic debut along with Clare Hunt, Kaitlyn Torpey and Clare Wheeler.
Tony Gustavsson will be the head coach of the Australian team for the Paris Olympics.
The Australian women’s football team has been drawn in Group B alongside four-time Olympic champions USA, Rio 2016 gold medallists Germany and Zambia.
The Matildas are the third-best ranked team in their group at world No. 12. The USA, fourth in the FIFA Rankings, are the top side in Group B ahead of fifth-placed Germany. Zambia are 65th in the rankings.
Australia will face Germany in their first Group B match on July 25 in Marseille.
Matildas made history at the FIFA World Cup last year by reaching the semi-finals for the first time. The team qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics after winning the third and final round of the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in February.
With four wins and one draw, the Australian women’s football team is still unbeaten this year.
Australia reached the semi-finals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but missed out on a podium finish after losing 4-3 to the USA in the bronze medal match. It was still the best finish at the Olympics for the Matildas.
Paris 2024 will mark the Australian women’s football team’s fifth appearance at the Olympics.
The women’s football at the Paris 2024 Olympics will be played from July 25 to August 10. The final will be played at the Parc des Princes football stadium in Paris.
The Australian men’s football team failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Matildas squad for Paris 2024 Olympics
Forwards: Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Michelle Heyman, Cortnee Vine
Midfielders: Kyra Cooney-Cross, Katrina Gorry, Hayley Raso, Kaitlyn Torpey, Emily van Egmond (vice-captain), Clare Wheeler, Tameka Yallop
Defenders: Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley (captain), Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Clare Polkinghorne
Goalkeepers: Mackenzie Arnold, Teagan Micah
Reserves: Lydia Williams, Courtney Nevin, Charlotte Grant, Sharn Freier