Five stars use 2020/21 Westfield W-League campaign as springboard to Tokyo 2020

18 Westfield W-League stars of today and years gone by make up the contingent of Australians heading to Tokyo 2020 as part of Tony Gustavsson’s Matildas team preparing to take on the world at the Olympic Games.

Gustavsson’s 18-player squad head to Tokyo 2020 with renewed optimism after experiencing the anguish of penalty shootout defeat to host nations Brazil at the Rio 2016 quarter finals.

All 18 of the selected players have graced the Westfield W-League throughout the competition’s history. Five of the 18, however, put their talents on show throughout the 2020/21 season, forcing their names into Gustavsson’s plans with their respectively impressive individual campaigns.

READ: Westfield W-League players named in Matildas Olympic squad

Teagan Micah – City stopper eager to build on recent debut

After making her Westfield Matildas debut against Sweden in June, Teagan Micah is looking to seize her opportunity as part of the Olympic squad with both of her safe hands.

Micah kept a clean sheet in Australia’s 0-0 draw with Sweden on June 16 to further enhance her reputation as one of the nation’s rising stars in between the sticks. 

It’s been a big month for Micah, who added Westfield W-League Goalkeeper of the Year honours to her Matildas debut and inclusion in Gustavsson’s Olympic squad. Micah was named the best ‘keeper in the 2020/21 Westfield W-League campaign for standing tall in the face of constant pressure in a struggling Melbourne City side.

Included as one of two goalkeepers in the squad alongside the experienced former City stopper Lydia Williams, Micah is sure to gain plenty of valuable experience as part of the Matildas’ goalkeeping brigade at the Olympic Games.

Dolan Warren Awards: Teagan Micah named Westfield W-League Goalkeeper of the Year

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514572001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6227879970001

Kyra Cooney-Cross – a rising star with the world at her feet

Kyra Cooney-Cross caps off a brilliant week with an inclusion in Gustavsson’s 18-player squad bound for Tokyo 2020. 

On June 23, Cooney-Cross was rewarded for her magnificent 2020/21 Westfield W-League campaign with Young Footballer of the Year honours passed to the teenage star at the Dolan Warren Awards. 

Six goals and four assists came from Cooney-Cross’ 14 games for Victory in 2020/21, a season which ended off the 19-year-old’s boot when she scored the winning goal in the Grand Final against Sydney FC deep into the second period of additional extra time.

One week after the Dolan Warren Awards, Cooney-Cross has another reason to celebrate after being named in the Matildas’ Olympic squad. 

Dolan Warren Awards: Kyra Cooney-Cross named Young Footballer of the Year

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514572001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6248770868001

Emily Gielnik – Golden Boot winner ready to ‘Roar’

Emily Gielnik ran rampant in 2020/21 as Brisbane Roar’s spearhead, on her way to claiming the Westfield W-League Golden Boot. 

Gielnik scored 13 goals in 12 games for Brisbane before departing for Swedish side Vittsjö GIK before the end of the regular season. Her red-hot form accelerated in the second half of the 2020/21 season, scoring in every game bar one after going three fixtures without hitting the back of the net to begin the campaign.

It’s Gielnik’s first appearance at Olympic level for the Matildas. The striker is one of six players (including Cooney-Cross) making their Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games.

Dolan Warren Awards: Gielnik collects Westfield W-League Golden Boot

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514572001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6239396804001

Tameka Yallop – A key midfield cog prepares for second Olympic outing 

Tameka Yallop is one of 12 players returning to the Olympic Games for a second time in July.

The midfielder is coming off an excellent season in Queensland, with Yallop’s performances for Brisbane Roar earning her a spot in the PFA Team of the Season, and a dream move to FA Women’s Super League side West Ham.

Bringing all the wealth of experience garnered from 89 prior Matildas appearances to the squad, Yallop will look to help her country progress past the quarter-finals where the women’s side fell to Brazil at the 2016 Games.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514572001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6225202203001

Clare Polkinghorne – Adding steel to Australia’s defence

Clare Polkinghorne is another Aussie returning for a second crack at Olympic glory at Tokyo 2020. 

The central defender played 12 times for Brisbane in 2020/21, scoring two goals and assisting one other, playing nine key passes and winning 80.6% of her attempted tackles. 

Polkinghorne added 28 clearances and 29 interceptions across her 12 games as Roar captain, helping her side end the campaign in second spot on the table before departing for the Finals Series, joining Gielnik at Swedish side Vittsjö.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514572001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6232090158001

Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo – Women’s Football

AUSTRALIA – GROUP G MATCHES

Australia v New Zealand
21 July 2021
Kick Off: 21:30 (AEST)
Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo

Sweden v  Australia
24 July 2021
Kick Off: 18:30 (AEST)
Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama

United States  v Australia
27 July 2021
Kick Off: 18:00 (AEST)
Kashima Stadium, Kashima