Local girls continue to shine on world stage
Australian Women’s football recently celebrated the success of the talented Young Matildas who were crowned 2025 PacificAus Four Nations Champions following a hard-fought 5-2 victory over Thailand in Canberra.
From a Football NSW perspective, it was remarkable to see 19 local juniors representing their country, showcasing the success of the state’s player development pathways in the female space.
Alexia Apostolakis, Amelia Bennett, Tegan Bertolissio, Jasmine Black, Madeleine Caspers, Indiana dos Santos, Tiana Fuller, Maya Lobo, Amber Luchtmeijer, Avaani Prakash, Sienna Saveska, Mary Stanic-Floody, Rubi Sullivan, Caley Tallon-Henniker, Peta Trimis, India Brier, Christina Kiceec, Nikita Fazzari and Talia Younis all formed part of the Young Matildas squad and represented Australia with pride.
The Football NSW representatives, all of whom have played in the National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition, looked to put their best foot forward in a bid to claim a spot for August’s AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Phase 1 Qualifiers, ahead of the final tournament in April 2026. This will also open the road towards Poland who are hosting the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in 2026.
Football NSW’s Player Development Manager for Girls Nadine Shiels celebrated the state’s major milestone in seeing such a huge representation of players wear the Green and Gold of Australia.
“I was very proud of the players efforts and performance in this tournament,” said Shiels.
“It’s a talented group of players who put on an exhibition of great football and had the opportunity to further develop their international experience.
“The considerable representation of players from NSW (65%) underscores our pivotal role in nurturing young football talent who can progress on to our national teams.
“This achievement highlights the effectiveness of Football NSW’s development pathways and reflects strong footballing values across the multiple levels of our game.”
Following NSW’s strong representation with the Young Matildas, the 16 players will no doubt hope to emulate the current crop of our Matildas stars who recently participated in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup in the United States. Seven Football NSW juniors were included in the recent senior team squad, which included Ellie Carpenter, Caitlin Foord, Daniela Galic, Michelle Heyman, Alanna Kennedy, Holly McNamara and Natasha Prior.
