Matildas waltzing in the rain
A deluge of rain in north-western Sydney hasn’t stopped the Matildas waltzing through a full training session at Valentine Sports Park.
With an international tri-series scheduled in Auckland next month every session is precious and the new synthetic pitch at Football NSW’s headquarters has allowed coach Alen Stajcic to give the full Australian squad a thorough workout.
“There was no way we weren’t going to get a full session in but without the synthetic pitch we would have been forced indoors,” Stajcic said.
Matches against North Korea on 10 February and New Zealand on 12 February will be the Matildas’ first since Stajcic was installed as head coach.
While the Matildas haven’t played a game since the AFC Asian Cup final eight months ago, a 31 player squad is fresh from a camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, vying for a place in the team to compete in the international tri-series.
Australia will also play in the Cyprus Cup in March, drawn to play England, Finland and the Netherlands in Group A, ahead of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada in June.
