<p>Tony Gustavsson, the head coach of Australia’s women’s national football team, announced his preliminary roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday.</p>
<p>Before the roster is reduced to 23 players in July, Gustavsson named a 29-player group that would take part in the Matildas’ last World Cup training sessions in Australia and New Zealand.<img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” class=”alignnone wp-image-30452″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-download-2023-06-19t171930.051-11zon.png” alt=”” width=”1258″ height=”784″ /></p>
<p>Before the final roster is announced, several injured players will have the chance to demonstrate their fitness at the training camp, according to a Xinhua article.</p>
<p>After extensive club seasons in Europe, star players Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Ellie Carpenter, and Caitlin Foord are all included in the team.</p>
<p>“We said it would take 23 in 23 for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and everyone would have a role to play in that journey from the first day of our first training session in 2021,” Gustavsson added.</p>
<p>“What we’ve seen is that it’s actually taken more than 23 players to get us here, so I’m excited to work with the players named in this provisional squad during the last stage of our preparation,” the coach said.</p>
<p>We now have the time to refine and cement our game plan in front of a fantastically exciting couple of weeks. I have been pleased by their entire devotion at every level.</p>
<p>The Matildas’ World Cup campaign will get off against Ireland on July 20 in Sydney before playing Nigeria in Brisbane on July 27 and Canada in Melbourne on July 31.</p>
<p>For the first time, the largest competition in women’s football will use a 32-team format, and only the top two teams from each of eight groups will advance to the round of 16.</p>
<p>China, who won the Asian Cup last year, will compete in the competition from July 20 to August 20 alongside England, Denmark, and Haiti in Group D.</p>
<p>Australia will play fifth-ranked France in a warm-up game on July 14 before the historic event on home soil.</p>
