Westfield Matildas head coach Hesterine de Reus has announced that the Westfield Matildas will play two matches against New Zealand in June.
Westfield Matildas Head Coach Hesterine de Reus has announced that the Westfield Matildas will play two matches against New Zealand in Canberra on the 13 and 16 June.
The team will then embark on a European Tour with international friendly matches against the Netherlands (29 June), Dutch club side Ado Den Haag (2 July) and world No.5 France (6 July).
The announcement of the Westfield Matildas international match schedule comes after de Reus has held a number of training camps with an extended group of players since March.
De Reus said she looking forward to her first matches in charge of the Westfield Matildas against quality international opposition.
“The first matches against New Zealand are very important to us as the only way to check on our status is by playing international matches,” de Reus said.
“The matches in Europe against the Netherlands and France will be very challenging as these two top teams will be in the final stages of their preparations for the upcoming UEFA Women-s Euro 2013.
“They will both be at the top of their game which again will be good for us to test ourselves.
“The match against Ado Den Haag will be interesting for me to see the players perform on an artificial pitch, similar to what we will experience at the FIFA Women-s World Cup which will be held in Canada in 2015.
“I am very happy where the players are at the moment. There is a good energy within the group and we are making progress step-by-step.
“Initially we had nearly the whole main playing group together for the first training camp, but with a number of players recently heading overseas to play, we now have a wider group of players to choose from."
Since taking on the role as the Westfield Matildas head coach, de Reus has made a number of changes to the Westfield Matildas set-up, which includes relieving Spencer Prior of his duties as the Westfield Matilda-s assistant coach. Prior will continue in his role as head coach of the Westfield Young Matildas. The appointment of a new Westfield Matildas assistant coach will be announced shortly.
In other Australian Women-s national team coaching news, FFA is currently searching for a new Westfield Australian U-17 Women-s Team head coach after Vicki Linton recently resigned to take up the head coach position with Bay Area Breeze in the W-League in the USA.
A 22-player Westfield Matildas squad will have another four-day training camp this week (25-28 April) at the AIS in Canberra.
Westfield Matildas - International Friendly Match Schedule - June/July 2013
Westfield Matildas (9) v New Zealand (20) Thursday 13 June 2013 AIS Athletics Track, Bruce, ACT Kick-Off 5:30pm Note: this is a closed door match only open to authorised media
Westfield Matildas (9) v New Zealand (20) Sunday 16 June 2013 McKellar Park, Belconnen, ACT Kick-Off 2:00pm Ticketing details to be announced shortly, please visit www.footballaustralia.com.au/tickets for further details
Netherlands (14) v Westfield Matildas (9) Saturday 29 June 2013 TATA Steel Stadion, Velsen-Zuid, Netherlands Kick-off - 7:00pm Click here for ticketing details.
Ado den Haag v Westfield Matildas Tuesday 2 July 2013 Kyocera stadium, The Hague, Netherlands Kick-off - 6:30pm
France (5) v Westfield Matildas (9) Saturday 6 July 2013 Venue - Angers Kick-off - TBA
Westfield Matildas squad for AIS Training Camp - Canberra - 25-28 April 2013
Name Caps (goals) Teigen ALLEN 22 (0) Laura ALLEWAY 14 (0) Mackenzie ARNOLD (gk) 2 (0) Kim CARROLL 48 (2) Stephanie CATLEY 9 (1) Amy CHAPMAN 18 (4) Brianna DAVEY (gk) 4 (0) Emily GIELNIK 4 (0) Heather GARRIOCK 130 (20) Kathryn GILL 72 (37) Katrina GORRY 4 (0) Michelle HEYMEN 8 (3) Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT 30 (0) Alanna KENNEDY 7 (0) Collette McCALLUM 76 (11) Teresa POLIAS 2 (0) Clare POLKINGHORNE 60 (2) Vedrana POPOVIC - Sally SHIPARD 59 (4) Brooke SPENCE 12 (0) Marianna TABAIN - Emily VAN EGMOND 16 (3)