Matildas record goalscorer Lisa De Vanna facing end of international career with omission from squad against Chile
The international career of Matildas record goalscorer Lisa De Vanna’s could be over, leaving the star striker desperately short of a major milestone.
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A cloud hangs over the international future of Matildas record goalscorer Lisa De Vanna, with the veteran striker set to be left out of the squad to face Chile in a double-header next month.
Less than a month short of her 35th birthday, De Vanna — who has already scored twice in six games since signing for Fiorentina in Italy’s Serie A — now faces an anxious wait to learn if she will play a part in Australia’s Olympic qualifying campaign early next year.
The Daily Telegraph understands that Matildas coach Ante Milicic does not intend to include De Vanna in the 21-woman squad he unveils next week for the games against Chile, despite them falling within a FIFA window, and despite her strong club form in Italy.
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If the omission spells the end of her international career, De Vanna will be marooned on 150 caps, one short of Cheryl Salisbury’s all-time appearance record for the national team, having scored 47 goals.
Milicic is expected to use the fixtures against Chile in Parramatta on November 9 and Adelaide on November 12 to test the depth of his squad, in what are likely to be the only two games before he names his squad for the Olympic qualifiers in February.
But De Vanna was restricted to just two appearances off the bench at the World Cup in France, when Australia limped out in the quarter-finals, and speculation will inevitably grow that her 15-year international career is over.
The player herself seems to have had no plans to retire after the World Cup, citing playing in Italy as the best way to prepare for the Olympics in an interview with a UK newspaper just a month ago.
De Vanna will be one of several big names missing from the W-League this season as a result of playing in Europe, including captain Sam Kerr and Emily Gielnik.
De Vanna was absent from the Matildas training camp held earlier this month in Sydney but so were 10 others from the World Cup squad, including Kerr.
“Some players are missing from this camp, and there are a variety of reasons for that including individual loads, injuries, and personal circumstances, however we will be selecting what we believe will be our strongest possible squad for November’s matches against Chile in Australia,” Milicic said at the time.
Appointed in the wake of Alen Stajcic’s sacking, Milicic is already well advanced in his planning for the Olympic qualifying tournament in early February, when Australia will play hosts China PR, Thailand and Chinese Taipei in Group B.
The top two teams in each of the two groups will advance to two-legged playoffs, with the two winners joining hosts Japan in the Olympic Games next August.