Glory ALW trio Georgia Cassidy, Naomi Chinnama and Grace Johnston will travel to Vietnam next month after being named in the Australia U23 squad which will participate in the ASEAN Women’s Championship MSIG Serenity Cup.
The tournament, formerly known as the AFF Women’s Championship, will take place at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho and Lach Tray Stadium in Haiphong, featuring eight participating nations from across Southeast Asia.
Australia earned qualification for the tournament directly by winning the AFF Women’s Championship 2022 in the Philippines and have been drawn in Group B alongside Myanmar, the Philippines and Timor-Leste.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, with the final to be played on Tuesday, 19 August and Australia Head Coach Joe Palatsides is looking forward to seeing his charges rise to the occasion.
“This tournament is a really important opportunity for our players to experience international football in a meaningful way,” he said.
“It gives them a real taste of what it takes to compete at this international level while coming up against quality opposition in unfamiliar conditions and doing it within a structure that mirrors the expectations of the CommBank Matildas.
“Some of these players have already had a taste of senior football while others are knocking on the door, but no matter where they are on their journey, this kind of experience is incredibly valuable.
“Development is a big part of what we’re doing, but we’re also going to Vietnam to win.
“We want our players to embrace the challenge, rise to the occasion, and understand what it means to wear the Australian jersey.”
Perth locals Cassidy and Johnston, both aged 20, have become mainstays of the Glory side since making their debuts as teenagers in 2023.
The former has established herself as one of the most influential young midfielders in the ALW, while the latter has displayed great defensive consistency, starting 22 games last year to take her tally of ALW appearances to 36.
Centre-back Chinnama debuted for Glory last season and made an immediate impression as she started every game of the campaign.
AUSTRALIA | MATCH SCHEDULE | ASEAN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MSIG SERENITY CUP™ 2025
Myanmar v Australia U-23
Date: Thursday, 7 August 2025
Kick-off: 4.30pm local / 5.30pm WST
Venue: Việt Trì Stadium, Phú Thọ, Vietnam
Australia U-23 v Philippines
Date: Sunday, 10 August 2025
Kick-off: 7.30pm local / 8.30pm WST
Venue: Việt Trì Stadium, Phú Thọ, Vietnam
Australia U-23 v Timor-Leste
Date: Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Kick-off: 7.30pm local / 8.30pm WST
Venue: Việt Trì Stadium, Phú Thọ, Vietnam
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