As expected, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley have been called up by Australia for the upcoming Asian Cup in March which will be hosted by Australia. The tournament runs from 1-21 March, Arsenal’s trio will be able to participate in Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Bristol City before flying home to represent their country.
The group stage will run from 1-8 March for the Matildas, with quarter-finals on 14 and 15 March, semi-finals on 17 and 18 March and the final on 21 March. Catley, Foord and Cooney-Cross will likely miss WSL games against London City Lionesses and West Ham United, if Australia progress to the final they could well miss the first leg of the UWCL quarter-final at home to Chelsea assuming the Gunners do not have their 4-0 first leg lead against Leuven overturned this evening.
This will be Steph Catley’s fourth Asian Cup, the tournament doubles as World Cup qualification, with the four semi-finalists directly qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil in 2027. The Matildas will take on Philippines on 1 March in the opening game before facing Iran on 5 March and South Korea on 8 March to conclude the group stage.
Congratulations to Steph, Caitlin and Kyra and good luck!