CommBank Junior Matildas\u00a0Head Coach Michael Cooper has named the\u00a021-player squad that will make history at the FIFA U-17 Women\u2019s World Cup Morocco 2026\u2122,\u00a0where Australia\u00a0is\u00a0set to compete at the tournament for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Australia\u00a0secured\u00a0its\u00a0historic qualification at the AFC U-17 Women\u2019s Asian Cup China 2026\u2122 with a 2-0 quarter-final victory over Vietnam, before the\u00a0team\u00a0went on to finish fourth at the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The squad\u00a0retains\u00a0the core group from\u00a0its\u00a0successful AFC U-17 Women\u2019s Asian Cup campaign, reflecting the continuity and progress of a team that\u00a0has developed\u00a0together throughout the cycle. Sienna Calvanese and Rubi Sullivan come into the playing\u00a0group,\u00a0adding further depth ahead of the tournament.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Willa Pearson, Maeve Nicholas, Annabelle Croll and Rubi Sullivan have been named as the team’s leadership group for the tournament. Pearson captained the CommBank Junior Matildas during the AFC U-17 Women\u2019s Asian Cup, and all four players have made important contributions throughout the team’s journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0tournament\u00a0will\u00a0provide\u00a0Australia’s most promising\u00a0young players with the opportunity to test themselves against\u00a0some of the strongest youth programs in world football\u00a0and gain valuable experience on the global stage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Quote attributable to\u00a0CommBank Junior Matildas\u00a0Head Coach, Michael\u00a0Cooper:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo qualify for Australia\u2019s first FIFA U-17 Women\u2019s World Cup was a significant achievement, but now the players have earned the opportunity to take that next step and compete on the world stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been a lot of\u00a0hard work\u00a0from this group over the\u00a0past\u00a0year,\u00a0and we have seen the players continue to grow, both individually and as a team.\u00a0We know that a World Cup presents a different level of challenge and that each of our opponents will provide a unique test.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the players, this is an opportunity to compete against some of the best young players in the world, learn from the experience and represent Australia with pride. We want them to embrace the challenge and make\u00a0the most of\u00a0what is\u00a0a\u00a0very special\u00a0opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0squad\u00a0selection\u00a0also highlights the importance of player pathways in Australia, with 17 of the 21 players selected for Morocco having\u00a0participated\u00a0in the 2025 CommBank Emerging Matildas Championships.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Quote attributable to\u00a0Football Australia Executive\u00a0Director of Football, Heather Garriock:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see this group selected for Australia\u2019s first FIFA U-17 Women\u2019s World Cup is a significant milestone\u00a0for\u00a0Australian\u00a0women\u2019s football.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a hugely exciting moment for the players, their families, their clubs, Member\u00a0Federations\u00a0and everyone who has played a role in their development.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strength of the pathway is reflected in this\u00a0squad,\u00a0and\u00a0it is\u00a0a great example\u00a0of what\u00a0can happen when there is investment in young talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are incredibly\u00a0proud of this\u00a0group\u00a0and look\u00a0forward to seeing\u00a0them represent Australia\u00a0and\u00a0experience their\u00a0first World Cup\u00a0in Morocco.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0FIFA U-17\u00a0Women\u2019s World Cup\u00a0Morocco 2026\u2122\u00a0will\u00a0run from\u00a017 October to\u00a07 November 2026, with Australia drawn\u00a0into\u00a0Group F alongside\u00a0Spain,\u00a0Mexico\u00a0and\u00a0Chile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fans in Australia will be able to watch the CommBank Junior Matildas in action thanks to Football Australia\u2019s broadcast partner, Paramount Australia.<\/p>\n
COMMBANK JUNIOR MATILDAS SQUAD | FIFA U-17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2026\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
NamePositionClub \/ Member FederationTehya ASPLANDDefenderCanberra United\/Capital FootballCharlotte BRADSHAWDefenderWestern Sydney Wanderers\/Football NSWSienna CALVANESEForwardFootball NSWClaire CORBETTMidfielderSydney FC\/Football NSWAnnabelle CROLLGoalkeeperFootball NSWMary DAL BROIDefenderWestern Sydney Wanderers\/Football NSWDali GORR BURCHMOREGoalkeeperMelbourne City FC\/Football VictoriaLeyla HUSSEINForwardMelbourne Victory FC\/Football VictoriaKaya JUGOVICForwardMelbourne City FC\/Football VictoriaFrida KARABERISMidfielderWestern Sydney Wanderers\/Football NSWSakura LEONGDefenderPerth Glory\/Football WestTheodora MOUITHYS MICKALADForwardFootball West Academy\/Football WestHayley MUIRDefenderPerth Glory\/Football NSWMaeve NICHOLASMidfielderFootball SAAlyse OPPEDISANOGoalkeeperSydney FC\/Football NSWWilla PEARSONDefenderSydney FC\/Football NSWHarper PELLDefenderNWS Spirit FC\/Football NSWAbbie PUCKETTMidfielderSydney FC\/Football NSWKeira SARRISMidfielderMelbourne City FC\/Football VictoriaRubi SULLIVANDefenderSydney FC\/Football NSWJada TAYLORForwardSydney FC\/Football NSW<\/p>\n
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2026\u2122 | MATCH SCHEDULE | GROUP F\u00a0<\/p>\n
CommBank Junior Matildas\u00a0v Chile\u00a0
Date:\u00a0Monday, 19 October 2026 (Local)\/ Tuesday, 20 October 2026 (AEDT)\u00a0
Time: 6.00pm (Local)\/ 5.00am (AEDT)\u00a0
Venue:\u00a0Mohammed VI Football Academy,\u00a0Sal\u00e9, Morocco\u00a0
\u00a0
Spain v CommBank Junior Matildas\u00a0
Date:\u00a0Thursday, 22 October 2026 (Local)\/ Friday, 23 October 2026 (AEDT)\u00a0
Time: 3.00pm (Local)\/ 2.00am (AEDT)\u00a0
Venue:\u00a0Mohammed VI Football Academy,\u00a0Sal\u00e9, Morocco\u00a0
\u00a0
Mexico v CommBank Junior Matildas\u00a0
Date:\u00a0Sunday, 25 October 2026 (Local)\/ Monday, 26 October 2026 (AEDT)\u00a0
Time: 3.00pm (Local)\/ 2.00am (AEDT)\u00a0
Venue:\u00a0Mohammed VI Football Academy,\u00a0Sal\u00e9, Morocco\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CommBank Junior Matildas\u00a0Head Coach Michael Cooper has named the\u00a021-player squad that will make history at the FIFA U-17…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,952,596,7797,174541,85],"class_list":["post-900667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-featured","tag-football","tag-football-australia-news","tag-junior-matildas","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900667","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=900667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}