By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia coach Tony Gustavsson has picked injured midfielder Katrina Gorry in an experienced 18-woman Olympic squad and also included veteran striker Michelle Heyman for the Matildas’ bid for a maiden medal at Paris.
Britain-based Gorry has not played in months due to a high ankle injury and underwent surgery in early April.
Swede Gustavsson will give Gorry every chance to prove her fitness before Australia’s opening match against former Olympic champions Germany in Marseille on July 25.
With striker-captain Sam Kerr ruled out with a serious knee injury, 35-year-old Heyman slots into a forward setup featuring Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler and wingers Hayley Raso and Cortnee Vine.
Heyman was recalled in February for her first internationals in six years and scored five goals across two Olympic qualifiers against Uzbekistan.
Steph Catley will captain a settled squad dominated by players who put the Matildas into their first World Cup semi-finals on home soil last year.
Australia also play four-times world champions United States and Zambia in Group B at Paris, three years after reaching the semi-finals in Tokyo.
The Matildas will be among the lowest-ranked teams in the 12-nation tournament, ahead of only Nigeria, Zambia and Colombia.
“We don’t fear anyone. We respect them but we don’t fear them,” Gustavsson said before the squad was named in Sydney on Tuesday.
“There’s a hunger to perform, a hunger to medal …. It might be my last tournament for the team, who knows?”
Gustavsson also named four alternate players who can only be added to the squad in case of injuries: goalkeeper Lydia Williams, midfielder Sharn Freier and full backs Charlotte Grant and Courtney Nevin.
Australia beat China 2-0 in a friendly on Monday, farewelled by a crowd of 76,798 at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, a record for a women’s soccer match in the country.
The final warmup for the Games came after China held them 1-1 in Adelaide on Friday.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mackenzie Arnold, Teagan Micah
Defenders: Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley (capt), Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Clare Polkinghorne, Kaitlyn Torpey
Midfielders: Kyra Cooney-Cross, Katrina Gorry, Emily van Egmond, Clare Wheeler, Tameka Yallop
Forwards: Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Michelle Heyman, Hayley Raso, Cortnee Vine
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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