Kyah Simon was just a teenager when she made her debut for the Matildas. Sixteen years later she is still playing for Australia’s favourite football squad and is now tentatively prepping for the Paris 2024 Olympics. If she is selected, it won’t be her first Games – Simon represented Australia at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
The Anaiwan and Biripi woman has a long list of achievements on the field. Simon made history in 2011 when she became the first Indigenous Australian, male or female, to score at a Fifa World Cup. And she scored the winning penalty goal at the 2010 Asian Cup final, dramatically securing Australia’s victory. (Simon was part of the Tillies’ squad for the 2023 Fifa World Cup but was on the bench nursing a calf injury during that penalty shootout.)
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"No Sam Kerr has spelt no Women's FA Cup glory this year for Chelsea - but another Matilda, Charli Grant, now has the chance to live the dream in the Wembley final showpiece with Tottenham Hotspur.
Grant came on as a late substitute for Spurs as they were losing 1-0 to Leicester in Sunday's first semi-final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the Australian international defender helped them to battle back and earn a 2-1 win with less than three minutes left of extra-time.
Then holders Chelsea clearly missed their injured goalscoring talisman Kerr, who's scored five goals in their last three Wembley triumphs, as they suffered their first ever defeat to Manchester United 2-1 in the second semi-final away at Leigh Sports Village."With the Paris Olympics less than three months away and only two more national team camps scheduled, questions remain unanswered as to who will be named in Tony Gustavsson's final 18 player squad.
With eight players currently sidelined with injuries, including captain Sam Kerr, and more recently star midfielder Katrina Gorry, former Matildas player Grace Gill has made her call on potential candidates for the starting Olympic line-up.
Twenty-four-year-old Kaitlin Torpey, who played her third game in the green and gold jersey against Mexico on Wednesday, was Gill's surprise pick to make the cut in Gustavsson's squad, claiming the rising star's athletic ability and versatility is essential for the Matildas' campaign.Foord was heavily involved in the opening goal, beautifully finished by Hayley Raso, before adding a second herself in a game of two halves in Texas that saw the Matildas largely stifled as an attacking force before enjoying a far more incisive performance after the break.
“This is exactly what we needed to prepare for the Olympics and learn about ourselves,” said Gustavsson, who must now whittle down his squad to 18 ahead of the trip to France.
The Swede said earlier in the week he didn’t like to use the word experiment, even if he admitted an intention to use this game as an opportunity “to try a lot of things”. A lengthy injury list, which includes the likes of Katrina Gorry, Clare Hunt and long-term absentee Sam Kerr, forced the Swede’s hand somewhat, and despite the verbal gymnastics, a degree of experimentation in Texas was inevitable.
Steph Catley, captain in Kerr’s continued absence, shifted to centre-back, Kaitlyn Torpey moved to left-back and in came Emily van Egmond to replace Gorry in the middle of the field. They were hardly radical changes in personnel but the game did provide Gustavsson a chance to tinker with positional setup and tactics.The Matildas have used closed-doors matches this week in the United States to super-charge Olympics preparations, trying new formations and game plans.
Coach Tony Gustavsson has enjoyed the benefit of a long lead-in to a friendly match with Mexico on Wednesday (AEST), giving his squad new roles and instructions.
It's secret squirrel stuff, and the first glimpse will come in San Antonio against the current world No.31.
"It was a massive opportunity for us to try different ways, different players, different tactics, different game management stuff in a closed-door environment to not reveal too much," Gustavsson said of the seven-day camp.
"Trying things we feel the need to improve come Olympics.
"Tomorrow will be a time — I don't like the word experiments — but it will be a day when we're going to try a lot of things."Former Illawarra Stingray, Michelle Heyman is using every moment in the national squad to push her place in the Matildas squad at the Paris Olympics.
Heyman had a stellar start to 2024, becoming the first woman to score 100 goals in the A-League Women and scoring four goals in her return for the Matildas in the Olympic qualifiers against Uzbekistan.
Speaking to the ABC from the Matildas training camp in Florida ahead of the team's friendly against Mexico, Heyman says she is making the most of every opportunity.
She also revealed she has declined multiple offers from international since her successful return to the Matildas so she can focus on her national duties.
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