Stajcic names expanded Algarve Cup squad

Feb 13, 2017 - 2:33 AM Coach Alen Stajcic has drafted in Matildas old and new as he looks to revitalise the national women's soccer team for their next challenges.

With one eye on the 2020 Olympic Games and another on next month's Algarve Cup, Stajcic has invited 25 footballers for a training camp in Canberra this week.

Regulars, including Steph Catley, Lisa De Vanna, Katrina Gorry and Lydia Williams, have been called up alongside five players aged under 19.

At 15, Melbourne City midfielder Jacynta Galabadaarachchi is the youngest to be invited to the AIS-based camp.

She joins Grace Maher and emerging goalkeeper Jada Mathyssen-Whyman as three uncapped players in the squad.

"We're looking at what kind of team we can take to qualify for the major tournaments, starting with the Asian Cup next year," Stajcic said.

"They're players we think have the potential to be really good international footballers.

"It's about having a squad that can peak in these tournaments."

Three senior names have been cut.

Melbourne City centre-back Laura Alleway, who helped keep a clean sheet in the W-League grand final on Sunday, has been cut for the Portugal-based invitational tournament beginning on March 1.

And suffering the same fate are fellow Olympians Tameka Butt and Alleway's City teammate Larissa Crummer, last year's W-League golden boot winner.

Germany-based stars Elise Kellond-Knight and Emily van Egmond will link up with the squad in Portugal, with 19 players from the 25-woman training group to win a place in the travelling party.

One Matildas veteran will make a return to the national team setup as a coach.

Midfield stalwart Heather Garriock will begin a stint as assistant coach, to be shared around over the coming months.

"It's a process of upskilling these high quality people with more experience at the highest level working with the top players in the country," Stajcic said.

At the Algarve Cup, the Matildas return to action for the first time since their heartbreaking Olympics quarter-final loss to hosts Brazil.

In Portugal, the world No.6 will face Netherlands, Sweden and China.

The Asian Cup, hosted by Jordan in April 2018, is the Matildas' next major tournament, before the 2019 World Cup and 2020 Olympics.

EXPANDED MATILDAS SQUAD FOR ALGARVE CUP:

Teigen Allen (Melbourne City), Mackenzie Arnold (Brisbane), Ellie Carpenter (Western Sydney), Steph Catley (City), Emma Checker (Canberra), Alex Chidiac (Adelaide), Caitlin Cooper (Western Sydney), Lisa De Vanna (Canberra), Casey Dumont (Western Sydney), Caitlin Foord (Sydney), Jacynta Galabadaarachchi (City), Emily Gielnik (Brisbane), Katrina Gorry (Brisbane), Amy Harrison (Sydney), Michelle Heyman (Canberra), Alanna Kennedy (Sydney), Sam Kerr (Perth), Chloe Logarzo (Newcastle), Grace Maher (Canberra), Jada Mathyssen-Whyman (Western Sydney), Clare Polkinghorne (Brisbane), Hayley Raso (Canberra), Gema Simon (Newcastle), Kyah Simon (Sydney), Lydia Williams (City).

Source: AAP