| Nickname | U23 Matildas | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Australia | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Sub-confederation | AFF (Southeast Asia) | ||
| Head coach | Joe Palatsides | ||
| FIFA code | AUS | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
Philippines  1–0 Australia U23(Manila, Philippines, 4 July 2022) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Australia U23 9–0 Timor-Leste(Phú Thọ, Vietnam, 13 August 2025) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Sweden U23  3–0 Australia U23(Sweden, 29 May 2024) Germany U23  3–0 Australia U23(Sweden, 1 June 2024) | |||
| ASEAN Women's Championship | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in2022) | ||
| Best result | Champions (2025) | ||
| Website | www | ||
TheAustralia women's national under-23 soccer team represents Australia in international under-23 soccer and at theASEAN Women's Championship. The team was established in mid-2022 and is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia,Football Australia (FA), which is currently a member of theAsian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regionalASEAN Football Federation (AFF) since leaving theOceania Football Confederation (OFC) in 2006. The team's official nickname is theU23 Matildas.
In mid-2022,Football Australia established the first-ever Australia women's national under-23 soccer team (U23 Matildas) to represent Australia in under-23 matches, including in theAsian Football Confederation (AFC). Senior women's assistant coach,Melissa Andreatta was appointed as inaugural under-23 Head Coach andLeah Blayney as Assistant Coach.[1][2][3] In September 2019, theAustralia women's national under-20 soccer team (Young Matildas) coach, Blayney had managed a squad to compete at the 2020 AFC U-23 Women's Championship.[4]
Andreatta named a28-player final squad for the2022 AFF Women's Championship held from 4 to 17 July in thePhilippines – againstASEAN senior national women's teams.[1] Australia U23, captained by defenderCharlotte Grant, were placed in Group A and their first match was a 1–0 defeat by the hosts,Philippines.[5] The hosts were coached by formersenior Australian women's coach,Alen Stajcic.[2] Attacking midfielder,Amy Sayer kicked their first goal for the tournament during their second match in a 1–1 draw withThailand.[6] In their third game Sayer scored all four goals in the team's first ever win – againstIndonesia.[7] In the match againstMalaysia, midfielderMackenzie Hawkesby scored a hat trick.[1][8] U23 Matildas finished third in their group.
Andreatta formed a 24-player squad for a two-game friendly series held inVarese, Italy in September 2023, where Australia U23 played againstAC Milan Women and thenScotland U23.[9] The next U23 Matildas squad contested the Four Nations invitational under-23 tournament held inVäxjö,Sweden from 30 May to 4 June 2024.[10][11] Australia, captained by midfielderLaura Hughes, lost against hosts, Sweden and visitorsGermany, but won against visitors Poland.[12][13] For that win, U23 Matildas came back from 2–0 down to equalise at 2–2, with the result determined by apenalty shoot-out, which Australia U23 won 5–3.[13] Andreatta was appointed head coach ofScotland's senior women's team in April 2025.[14]
Senior Matildas' assistant coachJoe Palatsides replaced Andreatta in June 2025 as the new Head Coach of the U23 Matildas. They competed at the2025 ASEAN Women's Championship (successor to the 2022 AFF Women's Championship) inGroup B inPhú Thọ,Vietnam, in August 2025.[15] Palatsides described hissquad on 30 July, "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."[16] At the tournament the team finished second in their group after defeating defending championsPhilippines 1–0 and fifth time appearingTimor-Leste 9–0. In the semi-final held inHaiphong they beat three-time champions and hosts,Vietnam 2–1 to advance to the tournament'sfinal against two-time championsMyanmar who had beaten them 1–2 in the group stage.[17] Australia U23 were crowned champions after their 1–0 victory, with the winner struck byHolly Furphy from an assist byAideen Keane.[17][18] Furphy was awarded Player of the Match for the final and Most Valuable Player for the tournament, whileAlana Jančevski was Rising Star of the Tournament.[18][19]
Melissa Andreatta (2022–2025)[14]Joe Palatsides (2025–present)[15]The following 22 players were named to the squad for the U-23 Australian Women's National Team at the2025 ASEAN Women's Championship held inVietnam on 6–19 August.[16] Abbey Lemon replacedBryleeh Henry (ruled out due to sickness);Hayley Taylor-Young was also ruled out, but with no replacement.[16]
Caps and goals are current as of 19 August 2025, after match againstMyanmar A.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1GK | Chloe Lincoln | (2005-01-04)4 January 2005 (age 20) | 6 | 0 | Brisbane Roar |
| 12 | 1GK | Sally James | (2002-10-18)18 October 2002 (age 23) | 1 | 0 | Canberra United |
| 18 | 1GK | Tahlia Franco | (2006-06-29)29 June 2006 (age 19) | 1 | 0 | Brisbane Roar |
| 2 | 2DF | Alana Cerne | (2002-12-11)11 December 2002 (age 22) | 4 | 1 | Essendon Royals |
| 4 | 2DF | Ella Tonkin | (2002-12-14)14 December 2002 (age 22) | 9 | 0 | Northern Tigers |
| 15 | 2DF | Tori Tumeth | (2004-10-05)5 October 2004 (age 21) | 4 | 0 | Unattached |
| 17 | 2DF | Sasha Grove | (2004-12-30)30 December 2004 (age 20) | 4 | 0 | Canberra United |
| 19 | 2DF | Grace Johnston | (2005-04-07)7 April 2005 (age 20) | 4 | 1 | Perth Glory |
| 21 | 2DF | Claudia Cicco | (2004-08-27)27 August 2004 (age 21) | 4 | 0 | APIA Leichhardt |
| 22 | 2DF | Abbey Lemon | (2002-08-14)14 August 2002 (age 23) | 3 | 0 | Sydney FC |
| 23 | 2DF | Naomi Chinnama | (2004-05-13)13 May 2004 (age 21) | 6 | 0 | Perth Glory |
| 5 | 3MF | Aideen Keane | (2002-02-09)9 February 2002 (age 23) | 5 | 2 | Melbourne City |
| 6 | 3MF | Isabel Gomez | (2002-07-06)6 July 2002 (age 23) | 7 | 0 | Northern Tigers |
| 8 | 3MF | Georgia Cassidy | (2005-05-27)27 May 2005 (age 20) | 3 | 0 | Perth Glory |
| 10 | 3MF | Sofia Sakalis | (2002-07-11)11 July 2002 (age 23) | 3 | 0 | Melbourne Victory |
| 13 | 3MF | Alana Jančevski | (2003-03-13)13 March 2003 (age 22) | 5 | 3 | Melbourne Victory |
| 14 | 3MF | Alicia Woods | (2004-01-18)18 January 2004 (age 21) | 5 | 0 | Brisbane Roar |
| 16 | 3MF | Amy Chessari | (2004-05-19)19 May 2004 (age 21) | 3 | 0 | Western Sydney Wanderers |
| 20 | 3MF | Leticia McKenna | (2002-08-07)7 August 2002 (age 23) | 5 | 2 | Melbourne City |
| 7 | 4FW | Emilia Makris | (2004-11-09)9 November 2004 (age 21) | 3 | 1 | Adelaide United |
| 9 | 4FW | Holly Furphy | (2002-04-29)29 April 2002 (age 23) | 5 | 4 | Melbourne Victory |
| 11 | 4FW | Annalise Rasmussen | (2005-05-22)22 May 2005 (age 20) | 2 | 0 | Central Coast Mariners |
The following players were called up to the squad within the last 12 months and still remain eligible for selection.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF | Hayley Taylor-Young | (2002-02-25)25 February 2002 (age 23) | 5 | 0 | Unattached | 2025 ASEAN Women's ChampionshipINJ |
| MF | Bryleeh Henry | (2003-05-05)5 May 2003 (age 22) | 3 | 0 | Melbourne City | 2025 ASEAN Women's ChampionshipINJ |
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
v Australia| 7 August2025 ASEAN Championship GS | Myanmar A | 2–1 | Australia | Phú Thọ,Vietnam |
| 16:30UTC+7 | Report |
| Stadium:Việt Trì Stadium Referee:Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan) |
v Philippines A| 10 August2025 ASEAN Championship GS | Australia | 1–0 | Philippines A | Phú Thọ,Vietnam |
| 19:30UTC+7 |
| Report | Stadium:Việt Trì Stadium Referee:Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan) |
v Timor-Leste A| 13 August2025 ASEAN Championship GS | Australia | 9–0 | Timor-Leste A | Phú Thọ,Vietnam |
| 19:30UTC+7 | Report | Stadium:Việt Trì Stadium Referee: Mu Mingxin (China) |
v Australia| 16 August2025 ASEAN Championship SF | Vietnam A | 1–2 | Australia | Haiphong,Vietnam |
| 20:00UTC+7 | Report | Stadium:Lạch Tray Stadium Attendance: 16,890 Referee:Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan) |
v Australia| 19 August2025 ASEAN Championship Final | Myanmar A | 0–1 | Australia | Haiphong,Vietnam |
| 19:30UTC+7 | Report |
| Stadium:Lạch Tray Stadium Attendance: 4,286 Referee:Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan) |
| ASEAN Women's Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 2004 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 2006 | ||||||||
 2007 | ||||||||
| 2008 | SeeAustralia women's national soccer team | |||||||
 2011 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 2012 | ||||||||
| 2013 | SeeAustralia under-20 team | |||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||
| 2016 | ||||||||
 2018 | ||||||||
 2019 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 2022 | Group Stage | 5th | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 4 |
| 2025 | Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 3 |
| Total | 2/2 | 1 title | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 7 |
Winners (1):2025 | ||
| National teams |
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