Soccer-Arsenal success can spur Australia to continental title, says Catley
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's Champions League - Final - Arsenal v FC Barcelona - Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal - May 24, 2025 FC Barcelona's Ewa Pajor in action with Arsenal's Steph Catley REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo
(Reuters) -Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women's Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women's Asian Cup next year.
Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon last Sunday, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas' 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday.
The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continent championship in March 2026, when they will attempt to win the Asian title for the first time in 16 years.
"I think it just gives you a little taste of what's possible," Catley said of the Champions League success.
"But to actually do it, it makes me think about my career and the things I really want to achieve, and winning silverware with the Matildas has always been top of my list.
"So, definitely, it makes me hungry. I've got a taste of trophies and (winning the Asian Cup) would mean a lot to me if we were able to do that.
"It's coming up now, it's very close so it's good for the three of us to have the taste of that and be able to lead that hunt for success for our team."
The Australians last won the Women's Asian Cup in 2010 with a victory over North Korea and have since finished as runners-up in 2014 and 2018 before exiting the 2022 edition in the quarter-finals.
And while the Matildas reached the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup on home soil in 2023, they were eliminated in the group phase of the Olympic Games last year, prompting coach Tony Gustavsson's departure.
The Swede has not been replaced on a permanent basis, with Tom Sermanni filling the role in an interim capacity, but Catley is confident the team is moving in the right direction as the Australians continue to unearth new playing talent.
"Maybe it hasn't been the most successful few years but we still believe we can achieve something special," said Catley.
"You see a player like Charli (Grant) come in tonight and she looks like she's been in the team for a few years, and we're still finding gems like that.
"I think coming into a major tournament, that's the most important thing that you can try to do, is have a bit of depth there and some competition."
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
PSG's Dembele and Doue named Champions League players of the season
MUNICH, Germany: Paris St Germain striker Ousmane Dembele was named Champions League Player of the Season by UEFA on Sunday after his turnaround season ended with him playing a big role in his side winning the competition for the first time. Dembele's teenage teammate Desire Doue was named Champions League young player of the season by European soccer's governing body. Dembele struggled early in the campaign, dropped by coach Luis Enrique for a league phase game with Arsenal for disciplinary reasons, but the 28-year-old went on to score eight Champions League goals after his switch to a more central role. While Dembele failed to find the net in PSG's 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in Saturday's final in Munich, he was singled out by the manager for his performance. "I would give the Ballon d'Or to Mr. Ousmane Dembele," Luis Enrique said. "The way he defended tonight, just that alone could be worth the Ballon d'Or. That's how you lead a team. Goals, trophies, leadership, defence, his pressing." The 19-year-old Doue wrapped up his extremely impressive campaign by creating the opening goal in the final for Achraf Hakimi before scoring twice himself. PSG had seven players named in the competition's team of the season while humbled finalists Inter had just one included. Team of the season: Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG) Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (PSG), Marquinhos (PSG), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Nuno Mendes (PSG) Midfielders: Vitinha (PSG), Declan Rice (Arsenal) Forwards: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Desire Doue (PSG), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Raphinha (Barcelona)
The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
Popovic wants win over ‘best team in Asia' in quest for World Cup berth
AUSTRALIA coach Tony Popovic is eyeing victory over Japan on Thursday to not only boost his side's World Cup qualification hopes but further improve the Socceroos' prospects of becoming the strongest team in the Asian confederation. The Australians face Hajime Moriyasu's much-changed squad in Perth knowing a win would take them to the verge of securing a ticket for next year's 48-team finals in North America as runners-up in Group C behind the already-qualified Japanese. 'A win is something that we're pushing towards,' said Popovic, who led his team to a 1-1 draw when the sides last met in October. 'We feel confident we can show an improved performance from what we did in Japan, albeit that was a very good one. 'We'll have to be at our best to beat the best team in Asia. That's where we want to get to and to be the best we have to beat the best and they clearly are.' The Japanese confirmed their ticket for the finals in March and, as a result, head coach Moriyasu has named a squad featuring eight uncapped players for the trip to Perth. While Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo and Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo have been included in the 27-player line, the Japanese are missing key players such as Kaoru Mitoma, Hidemasa Morita and Ayase Ueda. Australia go into the game in second place in the group, three points ahead of Saudi Arabia with two games remaining, although Popovic will be without goal-scoring midfielder Jackson Irvine, who is sidelined after foot surgery. 'It's not their best squad, I wonder what that will look like because when we played them in Japan they had their starting 11 all playing in Europe,' Popovic said. 'We can see that they have a mixture of J-League players and European based players in their squad. We haven't beaten them often and I'm sure they'll be strong regardless of who they play.'
The Star
12 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Popovic wants win over 'best team in Asia' in quest for World Cup berth
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Australia v Indonesia - Post-match Press Conference - Allianz Stadium, Sydney, Australia - March 20, 2025 Australia's Tony Popovic during the press conference after the match REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File photo (Reuters) -Australia coach Tony Popovic is eyeing victory over Japan on Thursday to not only boost his side's World Cup qualification hopes but further improve the Socceroos' prospects of becoming the strongest team in the Asian confederation. The Australians face Hajime Moriyasu's much-changed squad in Perth knowing a win would take them to the verge of securing a ticket for next year's 48-team finals in North America as runners-up in Group C behind the already-qualified Japanese. "A win is something that we're pushing towards," said Popovic, who led his team to a 1-1 draw when the sides last met in October. "We feel confident we can show an improved performance from what we did in Japan, albeit that was a very good one. "We'll have to be at our best to beat the best team in Asia. That's where we want to get to and to be the best we have to beat the best and they clearly are." The Japanese confirmed their ticket for the finals in March and, as a result, head coach Moriyasu has named a squad featuring eight uncapped players for the trip to Perth. While Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo and Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo have been included in the 27-player line, the Japanese are missing key players such as Kaoru Mitoma, Hidemasa Morita and Ayase Ueda. Australia go into the game in second place in the group, three points ahead of Saudi Arabia with two games remaining, although Popovic will be without goal-scoring midfielder Jackson Irvine, who is sidelined after foot surgery. "It's not their best squad, I wonder what that will look like because when we played them in Japan they had their starting 11 all playing in Europe," Popovic said. "We can see that they have a mixture of J-League players and European based players in their squad. We haven't beaten them often and I'm sure they'll be strong regardless of who they play." (Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
