THEY rose to prominence in the W-League to excel for the Matildas at Tokyo 2020, and to show the world that they’re here to stay.
And after helping guide Australia further than ever before at the Women’s Football Tournament at Tokyo 2020, the nation’s brightest young stars are primed to help take that progression further in the imminent future.
23-year-old goalkeeper Teagan Micah joined teenagers Kyra Cooney-Cross and Mary Fowler in leading the way for Australia’s aspiring young talents at the Olympic Games. Granted consistent minutes by Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson, the exciting trio excelled for Australia at the tournament in a squad filled with senior, experienced players who would have undoubtedly assisted in their professional and personal development over the course of the competition.
READ: W-League stars give United States their all in Matildas’ brave Olympic showing
Both Micah and Cooney-Cross used the 2020/21 W-League campaign to manifest their dream international debuts, with Micah winning the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year award and Cooney-Cross taking out Young Player of the Year to storm into the Matildas camp high on confidence.
Australia will now look to carry the momentum of Tokyo 2020 into three major tournaments ahead: the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the 2024 Olympic Games, and of course, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand.
What role those three young stars – and a raft of prospering players rising through the ranks at W-League level – play in the coming years is yet to be seen, but after the undoubted success of a trio of past and present W-League youngsters at Tokyo 2020 Gustavsson will be keeping a close eye on which young Aussies can press for a national call-up in the domestic seasons to come.
With the 2021/22 W-League campaign set to get underway on November 13, Matildas fans could be in line to see their heroes take centre stage again before the domestic action kicks off, in the September and October FIFA windows allocated for international “A” matches to take place.
To view the FIFA international windows, click HERE
If fixtures do eventuate in the allocated windows, Matildas head coach Gustavsson may elect to give the likes of Cooney-Cross and Fowler – who received the majority of their respective minutes off the bench at Tokyo 2020 – a greater role from the start.
https://twitter.com/7olympics/status/1421065984052535296
2020/21 W-League players Courtney Nevin and Charlotte Grant, meanwhile, will hope opportunities continue to come their way in the national setup after joining the Matildas squad in Japan, with only Nevin receiving minutes in the tournament.
Cooney-Cross and Nevin are both part of the Young Matildas program, of which Grant is a recent graduate. The program, which looks to the future of women’s football in Australia, also helped Fowler Karly Roestbakken make the squad for Australia’s 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.
The Future Matildas training camp in July featured ten W-League players of 2020/21, including Perth Glory talent Hana Lowry, gun Brisbane Roar full-back Jamilla Rankin and W-League Young Player of the Year nominee Jessika Nash.
Whilst the likes of Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord, Lisa De Vanna and a raft of brilliant Aussie heroes have offered inspiration to young players watching moments of legend unfold before their eyes throughout recent history, Cooney-Cross, Fowler and Micah provided the Future Matildas an even clearer reflection of where hard work and dedication can take them in the years to come through their recent achievements.
As millions of Australians tuned in to watch the Matildas take on the world at Tokyo 2020, representatives of the next generation appeared on your TV screens, demanding that you “watch this space”.
When tuning into the 2021/22 W-League campaign, there’ll be many more members of that same generation demanding you do the same.
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