MATILDAS PRIMED TO MAKE A WORLD CUP MARK
THE Matildas’ title-winning window is open and they have the next two World Cups to take advantage of a golden generation of talent.
That’s the opinion of midfielder Chloe Logarzo, who is part of a nucleus of talent ready to conquer the world in France next year.
Fresh off the back of two friendlies against Chile, in which they blitzed the visitors 5-0 in the second match but went down 3-2 in the first, things are aligning for the Aussies to put them in the box seat at the World Cup next June.
With a squad – including Gold Coasters Mackenzie Arnold, Clare Polkinghorne, Tameka Butt and Elise Kellond-Knight – that’s been together for some time, players and the team in form, plus the point other nations’ programs are at, the Matildas have their best chance ever to claim the top prize.
“I truly believe that this is our year,” Logarzo said. “We’ve been together for quite a while now. The age that we are, it’s this one and the following one, I guess if we get 2023 World Cup.
“I feel like a few of the other countries are going through refurbing phases in the last year or so. I think that we went through that four, five years ago when ‘Staj’ (coach Alen Stajcic) first came into the team.
“Now we all know what we’re doing, we’re all on the same page. We work well together.”
The Matildas are rated $14 chances to win the tournament, while the US are favourites at $2.50. The draw for the tournament happens in Paris at 3am on Sunday (Qld time) and Australia will be seeded as the sixth-ranked nation in the world.
It means they will avoid playing any of the top nations in the early stages, giving the Matildas their best chance of progressing past the quarterfinals, where they’ve been knocked out in the past three Cups.
“We just keep getting stuck at that final stage,” Logarzo said.