The rapid rise of Kaitlyn Torpey has left Charlotte Grant out in the cold as the Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson revealed his 18-player squad for the Paris Olympics.
Foxsports.com.au breaks down the team headed for Paris in Matildas Winners and Losers!
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Matildas suit up for Olympics with win | 02:27
WINNERS
Kaitlyn Torpey
What a few months it’s been for Kaitlyn Torpey.
In the space of a week, Torpey earned a move from Melbourne City to NWSL powerhouse San Diego Wave and was called up to the Matildas squad for the first time.
Torpey, who can play as both a full back and a winger, made her debut on February 24 against Uzbekistan and has not looked back since.
The 24-year-old even scored in just her second international game for the Matildas against Uzbekistan in the Aussies’ 10-0 demolition on February 28.
Torpey also started the first friendly against China and showed promising signs in her link-up play with winger Cortnee Vine on the right flank.
Gustavsson clearly has plenty of faith in Torpey and one imagines her versatility will be vital in a relatively thin squad at the Olympics.
Katrina Gorry
There were serious fears Gorry would miss the Olympics when she was forced off the field just 21 minutes into West Ham’s WSL clash against Chelsea in March.
Gorry left the stadium limping in a moon boot as her season was unfortunately brought to an early end, with the tough-tackling midfielder undergoing surgery in early April.
She was also not named in the Matildas squad for the recent friendlies against China.
However, Gustavsson has plenty of faith she can complete a full recovery in time for the Matildas’ first group game against Germany on July 25.
Gorry has formed a tight bond with Kyra Cooney-Cross in the Matildas’ midfield and if the two are alongside each other on the park in France, it’ll no doubt give a massive boost to the team.
Caitlin Foord
After a taxing season for Arsenal and the Matildas, Gustavsson knew Foord was one of several that had to be carefully managed during the friendlies against China.
So when Foord went down just 15 minutes after coming on in the Adelaide fixture clutching her hamstring, some pondered if the Matildas were about to be short of yet another attacking option.
Thankfully Foord was not severely injured and would have been declared fit to keep playing, but Matildas medical staff deemed it wise to bring her off given how close the Olympics were.
Unsurprisingly, Foord played no part in the second friendly against China as the team wrapped her in cotton wool.
LOSERS
Charlotte Grant
Grant can consider herself tremendously unlucky not to have made the final cut.
The South Australian came into the fold as Ellie Carpenter’s replacement due to the latter’s ACL injury and looked at home in the Matildas backline, even scoring in a 2-0 win over England last April.
However, Grant has rarely featured for the Matildas since Carpenter’s return and now finds herself as a reserve player for the Olympics with Torpey taking her place.
Lydia Williams
Gustavsson opted not to call on Williams’ experience at the Olympics as Teagan Micah was preferred as Mackenzie Arnold’s back-up.
Williams recently announced she would retire from international football after the Olympics and was given a fitting farewell in the Matildas’ second friendly against China.
Could Gustavsson have done with a cool head like Williams in Paris had the pressure cranked up after a tough result?
Sharn Freier
Freier was an unlikely candidate to have made the final 18-player squad but when Foord went down holding her hamstring against China, the Brisbane Roar forward’s inclusion might not have seemed so far fetched.
The 22-year-old could still feature having been named as an alternate player so if Foord or any other forwards have injury issues, she may still feature at the Olympics.
Freier enjoyed a breakout season for the Roar with three goals and five assists as well as creating the third-most chances in the A-League Womens.
Her impressive form earned a deserved call-up to the Matildas squad for the China friendlies and clearly impressed Gustavsson while in camp.