Australia is set to face the world number five, France, tonight in the Matildas' final game before kicking off their FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ campaign next week.
The game at Marvel Stadium is set to see an excess of 50,000 fans pack out the stadium, which will see a new home crowd record for the Australian senior women’s national football team set, eclipsing the previous best of 36,109 in 2021, when the CommBank Matildas hosted the USA at Accor Stadium in Sydney.
Squad News
CommBank Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson named his 23-player squad for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup™ and talked in the pre-match press conference about the squad rotation for the team's final game before kicking off the major tournament.
“It will be a good indicator of the starting lineup but also the finishing lineup [against Ireland],” Gustavsson said.
Gustavsson explained that fans would be unlikely to see Kyah Simon feature in the game, while veterans such as Clare Polkinghorne, Alanna Kennedy and Tameka Yallop, will be on limited minutes.
“She’s still not ready to play many minutes but we’re working on an individual plan for her and we selected her as a game-changer,” Gustavsson said on Simon's absence from training with the team at Marvel Stadium.
“The one thing that will be different is because it’s a send-off game and the last friendly before the World Cup, I’m also going to consider any type of niggles and minutes played – because it’s all about the Ireland game," he explained.
Our Opponent
Hervé Renard has named an experienced 23-player squad for the upcoming tournament, looking to build on the side's 3-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland before departing for Australia.
One notable absence in Renard's side is 93-capped midfielder, Amandine Henry, with the now Angel City player suffering a calf injury in training.
Renard will be calling on his senior players to set up in the tournament, with 178-capped Eugénie Le Sommer named in the final squad after missing last year's UEFA Women's Euros.
Head coach Renard will have the unique opportunity to coach in two World Cups for two different countries in the space of a year, after leading Saudi Arabia to a memorable victory over Argentina in their opening game of the Qatar World Cup.
CommBank Matildas v France
Date: Friday, 14 July 2023
Venue: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-Off: 7:30 pm AEST
Broadcast: 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+
Tickets: Buy Tickets Now!
