Three WAIS-AIS scholarship holders have been named in Australia’s squad for the two match series against DPR Korea.
Perth Glory stars Lisa De Vanna, Collette McCallum and Sam Kerr have all been retained in the squad following a convincing two-nil sweep from the recent tour of New Zealand.
Westfield Matildas Head Coach Tom Sermanni has announced his extended squad to play in the two matches against DPR Korea on the 3rd and 6th March 2010.
Sermanni has added four players to his squad that recently returned from a successful tour of New Zealand recording two 3-0 wins over the Football Ferns.
Brisbane Roar’s Karla Reuter has been added to the squad along with Melbourne Victory’s Laura Alleway, young Canberra United midfielder Emily Van Egmond and Westfield W-League 2009 Golden Boot and Julie Dolan Medal winner Michelle Heyman from the Central Coast Mariners.
The 24-player squad are set to face DPR Korea, currently 5th in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, in the two matches at Ballymore Stadium.
The matches, the first on home soil for over a year, will also count as the final preparation games for four of the team’s stars who leave following the March 6 match to play in professional leagues in the US and Europe before returning to the squad in May for final preparations for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2010 in Chengdu, China.
Star strikers Sarah Walsh and Lisa De Vanna depart to join up with their respective clubs Boston Breakers and Washington Freedom while the attacking acumen of Katie Gill and Heather Garriock leave for the colder climes of Europe.
Gill will continue her impressive career at Swedish club LdB Malmö before returning to help the Westfield Matildas in their quest towards a fifth successive FIFA World Cup while Garriock moves to Denmark where she will join her new teammates at Fortuna Hjørring and help guide them through both club and UEFA Champions League success before Westfield Matildas duty and Season 3 of the Westfield W-League beckon.
Football Federation Australia in conjunction with the Qantas Socceroos have introduced a special offer for the Westfield Matildas match – ticket holders for the Qantas Socceroos v Indonesia, Asian Cup qualifier on March 3, can use the same ticket to enter the Westfield Matildas v DPR Korea match on March 6.
The March 6 match will be shown live and exclusive on ABC 1 and ABC HD.
– Football Australia
