The Matildas will go into the Women’s World Cup in just over a fortnight with the strongest squad ever, said forward Caitlin Foord after the team announcement on Monday.
“The depth we have within the team is something we’ve maybe been missing,” she said. “So to be able to have 23 players that can play any game or in any position and still be able to get the job done – I think that’s what’s most exciting about this one.
“I do think it’s the best squad we’ve had yet.”
Foord’s club teammate at Arsenal and the Matildas’ vice-captain, defender Steph Catley, said the squad was stacked with players from the best leagues in the world.
“This team’s ready, this team’s experienced,” Catley said. “There’s nothing in me that doubts that we’re capable of achieving great things and obviously there’s pressure, but I think we also thrive off that.
“I think if this was our team four years ago, going into the situation, I would maybe feel a bit nervous about us being able to handle it. Going out there and being able to perform under pressure in front of 80,000 people, first game, I might have been a little bit worried.
“But the team that we have now, with the experience that we have now … most have high-pressure games at club level. We’ve played high-pressure games at multiple World Cups, at Olympics. And I think the fact that it’s a home crowd, everyone’s going to be there to support us – we’re just going to come alive and thrive off that.”
Catley acknowledges it hasn’t been a smooth ride for the Matildas to get to this point, finally with depth in the squad and players in form before a major tournament. When senior players took time out last year, allowing some fresh faces to get game time for the national side, it resulted in some big losses and doubts about Tony Gustavsson’s coaching.
“Based on where we’ve come from and where we are now, I think everything was worth it and part of the plan, and now we’ve got momentum,” Catley said.
“A lot of young girls, a lot of new girls stepped up and have really pushed for positions and that’s created depth for us. That’s something that I don’t think I’ve been able to say at other major tournaments that we’ve been through.”
Catley made her World Cup debut at the 2015 edition in Canada, while Foord’s first outing was in 2011 at the age of 16, which made her Australia’s youngest ever World Cup player.
Looking back to that tournament, where Sam Kerr and Emily van Egmond also debuted, Foord thinks their focus was probably not as sharp as it is today.
“We were more there having fun off the field than what we were actually there to do, and it just shows how far the game’s come but also [how far] we’ve come as well,” she said.
“I think where our young players are at now [compared] to where we were going into our first World Cup, they’re a lot more mature than what we were. I don’t feel like any of them will be too nervous; they have a lot more experience than what we did at that time.”
Foord credits her move to Arsenal for turning her into the stalwart Matildas player she is today.
“Being in a club surrounded by world class players, you have to be consistent and play well, week in, week out, to be on the pitch as a starter,” she said. “Being in [a] club like that, you can only get better with the players that are there.”
And with one of those players being Catley, the pair have been able to hone their on-field connection to perfection.
“She’s my definitely my favourite partnership to play with,” Catley said of Foord.
“I do know her very, very well. I know exactly where she wants to go, I know exactly where I need to be if she’s moving inside, outside. And I think it can be really dangerous for other teams because we know each other so well.”
