{"id":682218,"date":"2026-05-20T04:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/682218\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T04:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:09:11","slug":"matildas-squad-named-for-mexico-friendlies-with-teen-keeper-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/682218\/","title":{"rendered":"Matildas squad named for Mexico friendlies with teen keeper included"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fresh off claiming Women’s Super League glory with Manchester City, Mary Fowler will return to the Matildas squad on a high for June friendlies against Mexico.<\/p>\n

Dynamic playmaker Fowler will be joined by Chelsea defender Ellie Carpenter, who is set to notch her 100th cap, after both missed games against Malawi and Kenya.<\/p>\n

Sam Kerr is also in the squad after playing her final game for Chelsea<\/a>, while Steph Catley returns from a calf injury and her Arsenal teammate Caitlin Foord, currently on 148 caps, could notch the 150-game mark for Australia.<\/p>\n

Kyra Cooney-Cross, who missed the end of Arsenal’s season to spend time back home with her mother, Jess, who has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer, is not in the squad.<\/p>\n

Midfielder Katrina Gorry, who recently finished up with West Ham, is not included, nor are fellow veterans Tameka Yallop and Michelle Heyman or defenders Clare Hunt and Charli Grant.<\/p>\n

Coach Joe Montemurro has called up Adelaide United shot-stopper Ilona Melegh, 17, for her first camp after a stand-out A-League Women season.<\/p>\n

\"Ilonda<\/p>\n

Ilona Melegh has played in youth internationals for Australia. (Getty Images: Apinya Rittipo)<\/p>\n

Mackenzie Arnold and Chloe Lincoln are the other goalkeepers, with Teagan Micah sidelined and Jada Whyman taking a break from football.<\/p>\n

Nottingham Forest midfielder Alana Murphy has been recalled.<\/p>\n

The games will be a special occasion for Central Coast midfielder Isabel Gomez, who is of Mexican descent.<\/p>\n

ABC Sport Daily podcast<\/a><\/p>\n

ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the day and get you up to speed with everything else that’s making headlines.<\/p>\n

Australia plays Mexico at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle on June 6, then at Western Sydney Stadium three days later.<\/p>\n

The world number 27-ranked Mexico poses a significant step up as the Matildas ramp up preparations for next year’s Women’s World Cup.<\/p>\n

“This window provides another important step for us as we continue building consistency and clarity in the way we want to play,” Montemurro said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve retained a strong core group, while also creating opportunities for players who have performed well at club level and are ready for experience in the international environment.<\/p>\n

“Mexico will present a different challenge for us, and that’s exactly what we need at this stage.<\/p>\n

“Exposing the group to varied opposition and conditions is critical as we continue to grow, and we’re looking forward to maximising our time together both on and off the pitch.”<\/p>\n

Matildas squad<\/p>\n

Mackenzie Arnold (GK), Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Alex Chidiac, Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Isabel Gomez, Winonah Heatley, Alanna Kennedy, Sam Kerr, Chloe Lincoln (GK), Leticia McKenna, Holly McNamara, Ilona Melegh* (GK), Alana Murphy, Courtney Nevin, Jamilla Rankin, Hayley Raso, Charlie Rule, Amy Sayer, Remy Siemsen, Kaitlyn Torpey, Emily van Egmond, Clare Wheeler.<\/p>\n

* uncapped<\/p>\n

AAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresh off claiming Women’s Super League glory with Manchester City, Mary Fowler will return to the Matildas squad…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682219,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,132254,43873,329003,28533,44964,2184,44965,85],"class_list":["post-682218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ellie-carpenter","tag-friendlies","tag-ilona-melegh","tag-mary-fowler","tag-matildas","tag-mexico","tag-sam-kerr","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682218\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}