Last chance for Matildas Asian Cup hopefuls

Westfield Matildas Interim Head Coach Alen Stajcic has named a 24-player squad for a training camp on the Gold Coast from tomorrow (Tuesday 29 April) to Sunday 4 May 2014.

The camp will be the final chance for players to stake their claim before Stajcic selects his squad for the upcoming AFC Women’s Asian Cup which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from May 14-25.

After officially taking control of the team last week for his first training camp, Stajcic is eager to pick up where he left off with the players.

“In close consultation with the rest of the coaching staff we will map out the squad for the tournament by the end of the week,” Stajcic said.

“This camp is extremely valuable not only to get the girls together again but especially because the conditions on the Gold Coast will be the closest to mirroring the warm and humid conditions we can expect to be confronted with in Vietnam.”

“It’s important that we prepare the best we can, so it’s great to be able to spend some time at a good venue and in a good climate.

Ahead of the Westfield Matilda’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup campaign, which doubles as the qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Stajcic has emphasised this focus of this camp will be on fine tuning with an eye to their opening match of the tournament against Japan on May 14.

“The main thing we will work on is just being organised,” Stajcic said.

“Being up against Japan in our first game, our priority it to be as organised and prepared as we can be. They (Japan) are technically the best team in the world so nullifying their attacking strengths is going be one of our key objectives.”

The squad will convene on the Gold Coast on Tuesday afternoon for the camp, with the majority of training sessions to be held at Carrara.

The Westfield Matildas have been drawn in Group A of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2014 alongside Japan, Jordan and host nation Vietnam.

Westfield Matildas Squad – Gold Coast Training camp 29 April – 4 May 2014