Young Greek Australian talents Zoe Panagopoulous, Keira Sarris and Aurelia Stepanas have been named in the extended 33-player squad for the Junior Matildas’ ASEAN U16 Girls’ Championships to be held next month in Indonesia.
The Greek Aussie youngsters will all be striving to hold their place in the squad when it is cut to 23 players, with the final team to then travel to Indonesia for the tournament being held from 18-29 August.
Australia has been drawn in Group C alongside Singapore and Thailand, with Group A featuring the host nation Indonesia, Malaysia, and Timor-Leste, and Group B made up of Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia.
Head coach Michael Cooper stated every player earned their place, while expressing excitement in leading the current crop of players into its first international competition.
“It is exciting for us to begin to lay the foundations for the next generation of CommBank Junior Matildas,” Cooper said in the announcement of the squad.
“Over the last few months, the team and I have been watching and assessing emerging talent from across a range of Australia’s elite youth development pathways, and the extended squad is a reflection of this.”
Cooper stressed their target is to cultivate an environment aimed at growth as well as success.
“We are keen to create a challenging and supportive environment within the CommBank Junior Matildas that inspires young players to dream big and to take ownership of their journey. It is important that every member of the team buys into this as well.”
The tournament represents the first step of a new cycle that will also include the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, both of which will be played in 2026.
Regarding the significance of the coming ASEAN U16 Girls’ Championships, Cooper said “it will help us identify the strengths of the group and how to best support them as we enter other international competitions”.
The top teams of each group at the coming tournament, along with the best-performing second-placed team, will advance to the semi-finals, with the victors to then face off in the final.
