Nanjing: Fresh from a stirring opening day win over Korea Republic, the Young Matildas are excited at the prospect of becoming the first Australian side to reach the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship knockout stages since 2006.
The 2006 championship is also the last time they beat Japan at the tournament, and the four-time winners impressed Australian coach Gary van Egmond in their first-up 8-0 thrashing of Vietnam.
“I thought Japan were excellent,” said the 2007/08 A-League-winning boss.
“It was no surprise to see how they played. I thought they were very impressive, and you can see why they’ve had a lot of success at this age group,”
Australia’s 2-0 win over the technically proficient Koreans was made all the more noteworthy by the fact that both goal scorers – Remy Siemsen and Princess Ibini – sat high school exams on the morning of the match.
The two forwards – along with star goalkeeper Jada Mathyssen-Whyman – are juggling study and sport, an approach fully supported by van Egmond.
“It’s been great that we’ve been able to have the support from the AFC and the schooling body back home,” he said.
“In some ways its good to have a bit of a distraction for the girls as well, rather than sitting around not knowing what else to do but waiting for training and games.”
Mathyssen-Whyman was outstanding against Korea Republic, making a number of crucial saves to earn AFC’s Player of the Match, but despite her individual heroics, she was happy to share the praise with her teammates.
“The girls did their job up the other end, and it was my turn to do it when it came to me. The girls were fantastic,” she said, adding “We all played as a team and we did it together.”
This is Mathyssen-Whyman’s second trip to Nanjing for the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship, after she made the trip as a 15-year-old two years ago – appearing in the 2-0 win against Uzbekistan – and the Western Sydney Wanderers custodian is enjoying her return.
“Coming when I was younger, I didn’t really know what to expect, but this time I’m not worrying about anything other than playing and doing my job,” she said.
“This time, getting to play (rather than sitting on the bench) is really awesome.”
While the win against Korea Republic has given Australia every reason to believe the semi-finals, and potentially FIFA U-20 World Cup qualification, are within their reach, Mathyseen-Whyman insisted Australia would not approach the Japan game on Thursday any differently.
“We just want to win every game. We’re going into each game with the same mentality,” she said.
“Japan are a really good squad. It’s good to get our first win out of the way but its in the past now, and we’ve got keep moving forward and keep doing the best we can.”
It’s a view shared by Adelaide United midfielder Alex Chidiac (pictured above), who is aware of Japan’s quality.
“We don’t know much about the individual players (in this tournament), but we know from history that Japan are always going to be a strong side, and we need to come out with our best game.”
Chidiac, who made her senior international debut as a 16-year-old in 2015, said her experience at a higher level can help her team.
“I feel a little bit of a responsibility,” she said
“I’ve been to these tournaments for the last couple of years as well, so maybe I can bring some experience and share it with the girls. I just want to go out there and lead by example.”
Japan produced one of the standout performances of the tournament so far, as they racked up five second half goals against Vietnam, suggesting they may well add to their tally of four AFC U-19 Women’s Championship titles.
Australia have been on the receiving end of Japan’s dominance at U-19 level, losing to the Young Nadeshiko in the last three editions of the tournament.
But with Australia’s senior national team reaching new heights in recent times, van Egmond says his players can see a bright future ahead.
“Success breeds competition, but it also breeds belief," he said.
“So the fact that we’ve had success and we’ve had a number of landmarks in the last couple of years – the fact that we qualified for the Olympics, the fact that we reached the furthest point we’ve ever got in a World Cup, the fact that we’ve now beaten America – we’ve had a lot of success.
“The incentive it gives the girls, and the way they now apply themselves for 12 months, has been a real bonus for us – and it gives a real incentive for this age group to keep working,”
Australia v Japan: AFC U-19 Women’s Championship Head to Head
Year Result Stage Venue 2006 Australia 3-2 Japan Third-place Kuala Lumpr, Malaysia 2007 Japan 1-0 Australia Group Stage Chongqing, China 2009 Japan 1-1 Australia Group Stage Wuhan, China 2011 Japan 1-0 Australia Round Robin Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2013 Japan 2-0 Australia Round Robin Nanjing, China 2015 Japan 2-0 Australia Group Stage Nanjing, China
Photos: AFC
Source: the-afc.com