Westfield Young Matildas squad announced for AFC U-19 Women's Championship‏

Westfield Young Matildas Head Coach Ante Juric has named his 23-player squad for the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship to be held in Nanjing, China later this month.

The squad includes four players who have been capped for the Westfield Matildas, including Larissa Crummer who featured in Australia’s recent FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign in Canada.

There are also five players from Newcastle’s Emerging Jets program as well as American based Ayesha Norrie who is currently playing with Colorado Pride.

“I believe this squad is one with enormous potential, is well balanced and has quality in every position on the field,” Juric said.

“Larissa Crummer, Emma Checker, Amy Harrison and Alex Chidiac have all represented the Matildas, while there are a number of exciting talented 15 and 16 year old players who could be stars of the future.”

“With 10 players eligible for the next Young Matildas campaign, this team is also one for the future and looking ahead to the bigger picture of becoming key players in our senior national setup.”

The AFC U-19 Women’s Championship, which doubles as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2016 in Papau New Guinea, sees the Westfield Young Matildas drawn in Group A alongside hosts China PR, Japan and Uzbekistan.

The Westfield Matildas must reach the Final or progress to and win the 3^rd/4^th play-off to qualify for the World Cup, an assignment Juric knows is going to be a massive challenge.

“The task of qualifying for the World Cup will be an extremely tough one and that all important top three finish would be a huge achievement considering our preparation in contrast to the likes of Japan, China, DPR Korea and South Korea,” Juric said.

“However, we have a belief that we can overcome anything that is thrown our way and we will put our best foot forward in this endeavour.”

The Westfield Young Matildas depart for China on 13 August ahead of their first match against Japan at Jiangsu Training Base Stadium on Tuesday 18 August.

Westfield Young Matildas – AFC U-19 Women’s Championship squad

PLAYER NAME	CLUB
Alex Chidiac	Adelaide United, SA
Amy Harrison	Sydney FC, NSW
Angela Beard	Brisbane Roar, QLD
Ayesha Norrie	Colorado Pride, USA
Beattie Goad	Bulleen FC, VIC
Brooke Miller	Emerging Jets, NNSW
Chloe O'Brien	Western Sydney Wanders, NSW
Clare Wheeler	Emerging Jets, NNSW
Ellie Carpenter	FNSW NTC, NSW
Emma Checker	Melbourne Victory, VIC
Georgia Plessas	FNSW NTC, NSW
Hannah Southwell (gk)	Emerging Jets, NNSW
Jada Mathyssen-Whyman (gk)	FNSW NTC, NSW
Jordan Baker	Illawarra Stingrays, NSW
Kobie Ferguson	Emerging Jets, NNSW
Larissa Crummer	Brisbane Roar, QLD
Nat Tobin	Sydney FC, NSW
Oliva Price	Sydney FC, NSW
Princess Ibini	FNSW NTC, NSW
Sophie Nenadovic	Emerging Jets, NNSW
Sunny Franco	Brisbane Roar, QLD
Tara Pender	Blacktown Spartans, NSW
Teagan Micah (gk)	Brisbane Roar, QLD