Chloe Carmichael helps Junior Matildas to clean sweep in Australian debut

The Junior Matildas undefeated tour of Laos marked the international debut of Chloe Carmichael, who described the experience as “very surreal.”

Chloe Carmichael in action for the Junior Matildas during a tour of Laos.

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The Junior Matildas have booked their spot in the 2019 Asian Champions League under-16 Women’s Championship with an undefeated tour of Laos earlier this month.

Australia put together a dominant performance on both sides of the ball throughout their group A second round qualification campaign, scoring almost at will without conceding a single goal.

The Junior Matildas battled the hot and humid conditions to overcome IR Iran (3-0), Vietnam (1-0) and Laos (3-0) to secure their ticket to the elite international tournament, which will serve as the primary qualification process for next year’s under-17 Women’s World Cup.

At the core of Australia’s clean-sheet was 15-year-old goalkeeper Chloe Carmichael.

The campaign marked the international debut of the The Ponds youngster, who described the experience of pulling on the green and gold jersey for the first time as “very surreal.”

“It’s truly a feeling I (can’t) describe,” she said.

Although the Football NSW representative was pleased with her first hit out in the national colours, Chloe is determined not to rest on her laurels.

Chloe is hoping to one day represent the Matildas and play football in the US.

“My experience with the Junior Matildas taught me that hard work will eventually pay off,” she said.

“My next goal is to make the next Junior Matildas camp and final team selection for the AFC Championship in September this year.

“Eventually I want to represent my country as a Matilda and one day head to the USA to play as well.”

With her eyes fully focused on her lofty ambitions, Chloe knows exactly what she needs to do to make her dreams a reality.

“Just focus on myself and not get distracted from the people around me or worry about negative feedback,” she said.

“There are many ups and downs so I’ve just got to train at my best all the time.”

Australia’s sixth AFC under-16 Women’s Championship campaign kicks off in Thailand in September.