Stajcic names Matildas squad for 2015 Cyprus Cup

Australian head coach Alen Stajcic has named a 22 player squad for the 2015 Cyprus Cup held in Cyprus from 2 - 11 March 2015.

The squad consists of 17 of the 23 players who made the trip across the Tasman for the tri-nations series with hosts New Zealand and DPR Korea.

Meanwhile Laura Alleway, Kate Gill, Collette McCallum and Gema Simon have been added after overcoming injuries.

“This tour gives us a great opportunity to catch up to the rest of the pack in the world by spending an extended period of time together and playing a number of quality international matches that will be invaluable as we continue to work on our structure and the way we want to play when we get to Canada,” Stajcic said.

“Certainly the majority of the positions are still up in the air so we’ve got a good six week tour in front of us and we’re confident we’ll know most of the squad for the World Cup by the end of it. In saying that, the door is certainly open to others who aren’t in this squad making it on the plane to Canada.”

[More: Cyprus Cup Coverage | 2015 Women’s World Cup Coverage]

While many of the faces have been national team regulars in the past 2 years, one 'new' face is goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold who joins the squad after a strong W-League season with Perth Glory and a good training camp.

Noticeable absentees and World Cup aspirants from the squad include Sam Kerr (knee), Lydia Williams (knee). While goalkeeper Casey Dumont is out of contention after undergoing a knee reconstruction late last week.

This will be Australia's second appearance at the Cyprus Cup and the Matildas will meet tournament organisers England and the Netherlands with Finland rounding off Group B.

The winners of Group A and Group B will playoff in the Cyprus Cup Final with other nations facing off in placement matches.

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At the conclusion of the Cyprus Cup, the Matildas will stay on in Europe for another three weeks at the Australian Institute of Sport European campus.

At that stage several players, including Kerr, Williams and Tameka Butt, will join the squad while a number will return to Australia.

Australian squad for Cyprus Cup

Name	Club	A International Caps (Goals)
Laura Alleway	Brisbane Roar	26 (0)
Mackenzie Arnold (gk)	Perth Glory	2 (0)
Nicola Bolger	Sydney FC	3 (0)
Steph Catley	Melbourne Victory	26 (1)
Larissa Crummer	Brisbane Roar	1 (0)
Brianna Davey (gk)	Melbourne Victory	15 (0)
Lisa De Vanna	Melbourne Victory	92 (32)
Caitlin Foord	Perth Glory	24 (3)
Kate Gill	Perth Glory	83 (40)
Katrina Gorry	Brisbane Roar	24 (8)
Michelle Heyman	Canberra United	27 (10)
Elise Kellond-Knight	Brisbane Roar	49 (1)
Alanna Kennedy	Perth Glory	22 (0)
Collette McCallum	Perth Glory	78 (11)
Teresa Polias	Sydney FC	4 (0)
Clare Polkinghorne	Brisbane Roar	75 (4)
Hayley Raso	Brisbane Roar	8 (1)
Gema Simon	Melbourne Victory	1 (0)
Kyah Simon	Sydney FC	43 (10)
Ashleigh Sykes	Canberra United	7 (2)
Servet Uzunlar	Sydney FC	40 (2)
Emily van-Egmond	Newcastle Jets	33 (8)