Forwards Holly McNamara and Cortnee Vine complete 23-man AFC Women’s Asian Cup squad

The 23 players who will represent Australia at the AFC India 2022 Women’s Asian Cup™ have been finalized by Commonwealth Bank Matildas Head Coach Tony Gustavsson following a camp pre-tournament training in Dubai.

Following the announcement of the first player selections, forwards Cortnee Vine and Holly McNamara will complete the representatives at the Asian Continental Championships.

Confirming the arrival of Vine (Sydney FC) and McNamara (Melbourne City), Gustavsson praised the forwards for working their way into their first senior international team.

“It’s been a high quality week from everyone in this pre-tournament training camp,” Gustavssson said. “The quality of the performances of the players already selected, and of the four who are fighting for the last two positions, made this decision extremely difficult.”

“I want to be clear, this was not a case of Karly Roestbakken and Wini Heatley getting into a fight, but a case of Cortnee Vine and Holly McNamara playing each other in the Asian Cup squad.”

“I think a lot of people probably thought we were going to go with one defender, one striker out of the four players however, we felt that with the experience and the multi-functional players that we had already selected for this tournament, we have the cover in defensive positions.”

“We have instead decided to select the best players for this tournament who are in the best shape. Holly and Cortnee have shown us that this is the case right now and that they deserve to be selected.

Just five days away from Australia’s opener, attention has turned to Indonesia with Commonwealth Bank Matildas opening their AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™ campaign on Friday, January 21, 2022 at Mumbai Football Arena.

READ: How to watch: Australia vs Indonesia

Having now finalized the squad, Gustavsson believes the team is in great shape to be serious contenders for the Asian Cup trophy again.

“I think as far as the team chemistry is concerned, I have a very good impression of the group,” Gustavsson continued. “You can see there are a lot of players starting to find their vibe and that tournament vibe.”

“At the moment the only objective is the opening game. We want to start on the front foot. We want to have a good performance to open the tournament in the best possible way and that is where all our attention is focused.

Australia will arrive in India on Monday as it completes its groundwork in Mumbai.

All matches will be broadcast live on Network 10 and streamed via 10 Play in Australia.

MORE: Ultimate Guide: AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022

Commonwealth Bank Matildas Matches | AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™ | Group stage

Commonwealth Bank Matildas v Indonesia
Dated: Friday, January 21, 2022
Place: Bombay Football Arena, Bombay
To start up: 3:30 p.m. (local), 9 p.m. (AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and exclusive on Network 10 and 10 Play

Philippines vs Commonwealth Bank Matildas
Dated: Monday, January 24, 2022
Place: Bombay Football Arena, Bombay
To start up: 3:30 p.m. (local), 9 p.m. (AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and exclusive on Network 10 and 10 Play

Commonwealth Bank Matildas v Thailand
Dated: Thursday, January 27, 2022 / Friday, January 28, 2022
Place: Bombay Football Arena, Bombay
To start up: 7:30 p.m. (local time), 1:00 a.m. (AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and exclusive on Network 10 and 10 Play

For more information on the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, go here.