Cup of Nations: Matildas veteran Chloe Logarzo omitted from squad less than six months from home World Cup

Tony Gustavsson has provided an insight into his World Cup planning with his Cup of Nations squad announcement, writes TILLY WERNER.

Chloe Logarzo has been left out of the Matildas squad to play in the Cap of Nations. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Chloe Logarzo’s lack of game time at Western United appears to have proven costly with the 55-cap midfielder omitted from the Matildas squad for next month’s Cup of Nations.

Tony Gustavsson has named a mostly unchanged squad to face Spain, Jamaica and the Czech Republic in February, with Logarzo the only core player to miss selection for the squad.

“For Chloe in this case, it’s not about her knee, she has a bit of a foot problem so she hasn’t been back playing 100 per cent,” Gustavsson said. “We felt that she needed to get to 100 per cent before she returns so in this case we chose not to select her.”

Logarzo has been struggling to prove match fitness since her return from an ACL injury sustained in 2021, managing just one appearance off the bench against South Africa last October.

While Logarzo was involved in the November window camps, Gustavsson opted to play Alex Chidiac and Emily van Egmond from the bench over her in friendlies against Thailand and Sweden.

A lack of game time with Western United has seemingly cost Logarzo. Picture: Damian Briggs/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“This selection is about the last two years. We said we are going to try and narrow it down and have more consistency,” Gustavsson continued. “It’s based on the best team, not the best players and there are some tough decisions where I have left players out who do deserve to be here.”

It is a concerning sign for the battling playmaker less than six months out from a home World Cup. There are less than 10 rounds remaining in the A-League women’s season and Western United are unlikely to bench Melissa Taranto or Jaclyn Sawicki from their table-topping starting XI.

In other selection news, Matilda McNamara makes way for World Cup bolter Clare Hunt, who is garnering plenty of domestic attention despite the Wanderers’ form as they struggle to advance from the middle of the A-League ladder.

While Hunt’s rise has been stunted by injury, she has helped the Wanderers to one of the league’s best defensive records and secured the club’s best-and-fairest nod in 2022, despite spending a significant portion of the season on the bench.

The Cup of Nations is Hunt’s first call up to a national team camp. And with injuries plaguing the Matildas’ backline over the last 12 months, her timing may prove critical.

Clare Hunt will join the Matildas for the first time. Picture: Damian Briggs/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The 23-year-old provides pace, grunt and youth against the experience of Matildas mainstay Clare Polkinghorne, who comes into the squad in the middle of her offseason with club side Vittsjo GIK.

“I’ve been impressed by [Hunt’s] performance this year, I thought it would take her longer to perform at that level,” Gustavsson said. “Obviously the Wanderers struggled at the start of the year but their turnaround was a lot due to her. She plays well above her years.

“The question we have is: can she deliver at the international level, where everything steps up?”

While the Cup of Nations remains the immediate focus, Hunt will be out to prove that her speed and strength on the ball are a better match than Polkinghorne’s nouse and experience against the pace of Canadian strikers Jordyn Huitema and Adriana Leon.

The duo played havoc with the Australian backline when the teams met last September and will be a point of concern for Gustavsson as he weighs up the best way to quash the Canadian attack when the teams meet at the World Cup in July.

The Cup of Nations squad did not include Ellie Carpenter or Kyah Simon, both of whom are returning from ACL injuries.

“Ellie is making progress,” Gustavsson said. “We had a long debate because she can train with contact but she hasn’t played any minutes and we thought that all the travel and jetlag might effect her as well.”

Carpenter is still working to prove her fitness with club side Lyon and will be channelling her best Harry Souttar as she fights through her rehabilitation against a narrowing timeline.

Originally published as Cup of Nations: Matildas veteran Chloe Logarzo omitted from squad less than six months from home World Cup