Leah Blayney: “Australians will see an exciting group of players."

Head Coach Leah Blayney said that Australia could look forward to seeing proactive football from an exciting group of young players as the CommBank Young Matildas prepare for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup 2024™ in Colombia.

She was speaking at Taronga Zoo in Sydney after her 21-player squad was announced for the tournament.

“Australians will see an exciting group of players,” she enthused.

“They’re on the front foot, and extremely proactive both in terms of our playing style and some of the individual qualities that these players will bring to it.”

It was a tough process for Blayney and her coaching team to whittle the squad down to 21 with so many young players impressing at NPL, and previously A-League Women’s level.

“We’ve got a lot of talented youth players within Australia who are in form at the moment, and form was a big key in this selection,” she explained.

“In the front third, in particular, we’ve got a number of players across the country who are scoring goals week in, week out, at NPL level, as well as in midweek games with our Future Matildas program. So it’s certainly been a tough task.”

This is the second FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup™ that Australia have contested in a row, after qualifying for 2022 in Costa Rica.

This time around, hosts Colombia, Mexico, and Cameroon await the CommBank Young Matildas in the group stage of the tournament.

“It’s what World Cups are about,” Blayney outlined. “You get to experience playing against a variety of teams who might set up differently tactically, and that for us is imperative in terms of our youth development, and getting those exposures on the world stage.”

“It’s been an invaluable learning experience to have been to a previous youth World Cup. I think the on-the-ground, day-to-day of that environment – it’s such a high-pressure tournament situation. We will be bringing those learnings forward into this World Cup.”

Having seen this group of players develop over the last two years in preparation for this tournament, Blayney expressed her pride in their work on and off the pitch.

“They’re a tremendous group of players on and off the pitch,” she enthused. “I don’t think I’ve worked with a closer group.”

“The amount of time they spend together outside of football and the young, strong women that they are - it just makes me proud to coach them.”

In terms of the tournament itself, Blayney said that it’s all about development and building experiences for young players as they look to continue to grow their careers.

“When it comes to Youth World Cups, it’s all about development and those exposures for senior level,” she explained.

“We know historically, very good youth players have gone on to play in our senior national team, as well as being world stars in football for other national teams, so that’s the platform for us. And that’s the opportunity ahead – just to add to their development.”

MATCH SCHEDULE | FIFA U-20 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP COLOMBIA 2024™

Colombia v Australia 
Date: Saturday, 31 August 2024 / Sunday, 1 September 2024 (AUS) 
Time: 6.00pm (local) / 9.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia

Mexico v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 3 September 2024 / Wednesday, 4 September 2024 (AUS) 
Time: 5.00pm (local) / 8.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia

Australia v Cameroon
Date: Friday, 6 September 2024 / Saturday, 7 September 2024 (AUS) 
Time: 5.00pm (local) / 8.00am (AEST)
Venue: Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia