The Aussies have brought a strong side to Auckland including 16 from the Asian Cup Final last year and current Asian Player of the year Katrina Gorry - but haven't played since May last year and have a couple of prominent players like Sam Kerr missing through injury:
http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/article/westfi...
Monday, 2 February 2015-
Staff writer
"Westfield Matildas Head Coach Alen Stajcic has named a 24-player squad for next week’s internationals against New Zealand and DPR Korea in Auckland.
In what will be the Westfield Matildas’ first matches since the team finished runners up at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in May last year, the squad for this upcoming international tri series features a host of familiar names as well as some fresh faces and players who are returning to the national team setup.
There are 16 players from last year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup campaign, including current Asian Player of the Year Katrina Gorry, while Larissa Crummer, 16 year old Alex Chidiac and Amy Harrison are three new players in the squad, the trio having impressed at the training camps Stajcic has held in the lead up to these matches.
“Alex Chidiac has done really well. She’s a youngster who has impressed at camp so it will be a good opportunity for her to gain some experience and come on a tour with the national team,” said Stajcic.
Midfielders Kyah Simon and Aivi Luik are two players who are back in calculation after overcoming injuries. In contrast, there are some notable absentees that could not be considered because of injury.
“There are a few girls returning from injury and a few girls that are currently injured as well such as Ellie Brush, Kate Gill, Sam Kerr, Lydia Williams and Tameka Butt so there are a number of girls still in contention,” said Stajcic.
“These two matches are the first step in the process and it’s going to be an excellent examination on how our players are travelling and how they can step up to that level.
“We’ll certainly be using these two games to test some players that either haven’t played for a while or are just reemerging back into the national team so we want to see if they’re capable at that level.”
Seen as an important part of the Westfield Matildas’ preparations for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 in Canada, Stajcic believes the chance to face a DPR Korea side that is currently ranked 7th in the FIFA world rankings as well as the 18th ranked Football Ferns will provide a fitting gauge to the progress made in the past month.
“We’ve had three camps and the team has progressed really well on and off the field,” said Stajcic.
“Obviously it will be a big test to jump straight back into international football after that little period, especially DPR Korea who are one of the best teams in the world, but we think we’re tracking well and this will be a good challenge for us.”
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Their last game was last May's Asian women's cup final which they lost to Japan.
Seven of that squad were playing in the US women's league, including three under former All White Aaron Lines from Christchurch at Western New York Flash:
That squad and their then clubs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_women's_nat...
Many of the Matilda's play in both the Aussie women's league and the US women's league since the seasons don't overlap.
Matildas coach Alen Stajcic is an Aussie who has been a prominent women's coach in NSW since 2002.
He replaced Dutch woman Hesterine De Reus last April after players rebelled against what they claimed was her overly strict style.
De Reus had replaced former Christchurch United player Tom Sermanni at the beginning of 2013 when the later went to coach the US national team (and then got controversially sacked last April).