Dubbo product Grace Maher enjoyed a stellar rise from promising teenager to W-League minor premiership winner this season and things got even better on Monday when she earned her first ever national team call-up.
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The Canberra United star, still just 17, is part of a fresh young batch of players named by Matildas coach Alen Stajcic.
The 25-player squad will now gather for a three day training camp at the AIS in Canberra beginning on Wednesday.
The squad features five players who are 18 years of age or younger, with up and coming talent and Cowra junior Ellie Carpenter, already somewhat established in the squad, joined by Alex Chidiac and uncapped trio Maher, Jacynta Galabadaarachchi and Jada Mathyssen-Whyman.
“We are now heading into a new four year cycle. The last cycle ended after the Rio Olympics so this is the beginning of a new cycle up until after the Tokyo Games, so we’re looking at what kind of team we can take to qualify for the major tournaments, starting with the Asian Cup next year,” Stajcic said.
“It’s about having a squad that can peak in these tournaments.”
There was no spot for fellow Dubbo junior Ashleigh Sykes in the squad, despite finishing the season as the W-League’s leading goal-scorer. Sykes stepped away from the national scene last year due to personal reasons.
Stajcic said players chosen for the camp were picked for their form in the Westfield W-League but also for performances at underage national level, a scene where Maher starred.
Maher, who led the W-League in assists this season, has recently been captaining the Matildas under-19s side.
“For the majority it is about what they showed in the W-League but others have done well at Young Matildas camps and in the Under 17 national team, so it could have been on any major arena that we watched them play on,” Stajcic said.
“They’re players we think have the potential to be really good international footballers.”
The camp at the AIS will be followed by a second training camp in Sydney’s west from February 20-22 ahead of the Matildas’ participation in the prestigious Algarve Cup in Portugal.The squad for the second training camp will be trimmed to 18-20 players, which will consist of the final squad that will travel to the Algarve Cup.
German based midfield duo and key Matildas players Elise Kellond-Knight and Emily van Egmond will join the squad in Portugal.
The Algarve Cup features the likes of highly-ranked sides Sweden, Canada and Japan.