The CommBank Matildas players and staff reported for the first day of the April assembly in picturesque Surrey ahead of their opening fixture against Scotland on 7 April 2023.
Australia’s longest-serving women’s international footballer, Lydia Williams, gave her thoughts on the opening session, the upcoming matches, and the continual building of the team as the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ nears.
"First day of camp is always fun, everyone is in, and you get to see people you haven't seen in a little while," Williams said.
"It was a good first training session, getting the travel out of our legs and getting back to how we want to play and be here as a team."
Williams, like several of her Australian teammates, had a short trip after her game on Saturday night with Brighton to arrive for camp in picturesque Surrey.
"I think with the less travel, it kind of helps you get onto the ground up and running pretty quickly. In our first session, I was involved with a lot of goalkeeping, technique, handling and kind of getting back into it." Williams continued.
The team has arrived in Surrey and is preparing for their first game of the April FIFA International Window, taking on Scotland on Friday, before facing the reigning UEFA Women's Champions, England on Tuesday night (local time).
"We play with and against other Scottish and English girls within the leagues that we play in so, we're quite familiar. Both are going to be really challenging games and I think it's going to emulate what we might face later on in the tournament [FIFA Women’s World Cup™], but also quite similar to maybe some of the opponents we're going to play to," she said on our next opponents.
Williams talked about her move from Paris Saint-Germain in the Division 1 Féminine to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Barclays Women's Super League, making her return to the WSL after previously playing at Arsenal.
"At the moment we are going through a bit of a relegation battle. So it's definitely a different vibe than where I'd be playing elsewhere. But it's a good challenge. It's a different challenge."
COMMBANK MATILDAS MATCH SCHEDULE | APRIL 2023
CommBank Matildas v Scotland
Date: Fri, 7 April 2023
Venue: Cherry Red Records Stadium, London
Kick-Off: 1.15 pm (local) / 10.15 pm (AEST)
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Tickets are available from here
England v CommBank Matildas
Date: Tues, 11 April 2023 (local) / Wed, 12 April (AEST)
Venue: Brentford Community Stadium, London
Kick-Off: 7:45 pm (local) / 4:45 am (AEST)
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+