Young Matildas name training squad

The Westfield Young Matildas go into camp today in preparation for their AFC U19 Women’s Championship 2011 which act as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2012 to be held in Uzbekistan.

The Westfield Young Matildas go into camp today in preparation for their AFC U19 Women-s Championship 2011 which act as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 Women-s World Cup 2012 to be held in Uzbekistan.

The camp, held at the Blacktown International Sports Park, runs until Sunday with Westfield Young Matildas head coach Jeff Hopkins putting the players through their paces prior to the six team round robin tournament in Vietnam next month.

The team will have one more training camp on the Gold Coast prior to their Brisbane departure on October 1.

Among the 23 players are FIFA Women-s World Cup stars Caitlin Foord and Teigen Allen who at 16 and 17 years of age respectively bring both a huge amount of talent and experience into the squad.

“I-ve learned a lot this year especially from the World Cup and Olympic qualifiers and I hope I can bring some of my experience and share it with the other girls,” said Caitlin Foord.

“It-s been a huge learning experience playing in the senior team and I think it will help me get the best out of myself at the Championships next month.

“We-ve got a really great team (the U19s) and it will be interesting to see how well we can play together as it-s been a while since we were all out on the pitch together.”

Star midfielder Emily van Egmond will join the squad in Vietnam following her recent signing for Danish Elitedivisionen club Fortuna Hjørring along with fellow Westfield Matildas Elise Kellond-Knight, Kim Carroll and Leena Khamis.

The top three sides from the AFC U-19 Women-s Championship 2011 will progress to next year-s FIFA U-20 Women-s World Cup which will be held from 18 August - 8 September 2012 in Uzbekistan.

Westfield Young Matildas AFC U-19 Championships Squad Training camp Blacktown International Sports Park, Blacktown, Sydney 15-18 September 2011

Teigen Allen (Sydney FC), Tara Andrews (Newcastle Jets), Mackenzie Arnold (Gold Coast), Nicola Bolger (Sydney FC), Hannah Brewer (Newcastle Jets), Ashley Brown (Melbourne Victory), Stephanie Catley (Melbourne Victory), Brianna Davey (Melbourne Victory), Casey Dumont (Brisbane Roar), Erika Elze (Brisbane Roar), Caitlin Foord (Sydney FC), Emily Gielnik (Brisbane Roar), Katrina Gorry (Adelaide United), Michaela Hatzirodos (Brisbane Roar), Kahlia Hogg (Canberra United), Alexandra Huynh (Newcastle Jets), Alanna Kennedy (Sydney FC), Linda O-Neill (Sydney FC), Vedrana Popovic (Brisbane Roar), Rebekah Stott (Brisbane Roar), Marianna Tabain (Perth Glory), Emily van Egmond (Canberra United), Brittany Whitfield (Sydney)

Head Coach: Jeff Hopkins Team Manager: Jo Fernandes (Chris Conti for Sydney camp) Assistant Coach: Nicola Williams Goalkeeper Coach: Paul Jones Doctor: Rachel Taylor Physiotherapist: Katrina Staniforth Equipment/Video: Jo Adams

AFC U19 Women-s Championship Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 6-16 October 2011

6 October v Vietnam, 4pm, Thong Nhat Stadium 8 October v DPR Korea, 4pm, Thanh Long Sports Centre 10 October v Japan, 4pm, Thong Nhat Stadium 13 October v China, 4pm, Thong Nhat Stadium 16 October v Korea Republic, 4pm, Thanh Long Sports Centre