Matildas star Caitlin Foord reveals she has no W-League contract now that Japanese season is over

IT was assumed Matildas striker Caitlin Foord would return to Sydney FC now her time in Japan is up. But the 2016 Asian women’s player of the year says that isn’t necessarily the case.

Caitlin Foord would be sought after by any team. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

CAITLIN Foord will step on to AAMI Park as a free agent when the Matildas face China on Wednesday night.

And the 2016 Asian women’s footballer of the year shapes as the ultimate gun for hire in the second half of the W-League season — if she decides against having a well-earned rest before April’s Asian Cup in Jordan.

Foord has spent this season playing in Japan for Vegalta Sendai Ladies, whose season ended with a defeat on Sunday.

It was assumed the gun attacker would return to Sydney FC — where she has played on and off since 2010 — but the 23-year-old revealed nothing has been sorted yet.

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Caitlin Foord on the ball against Brazil in Penrith in September. Picture: AAP

Foord has to return to Japan after Sunday’s game in Geelong to wrap up her end-of-season commitments, but after that nothing is certain.

“I don’t think I’ll go back to Japan next year because we have the Asian Cup and I want to be with the team to prepare for that,” Foord said.

“I haven’t signed for anyone in the W-League yet, I’m not sure what I’m doing yet because it was a long season.

“Maybe I’ll have a bit of time just to chill — the last eight months have been pretty hectic and pretty draining mentally and physically — and then my main goal is the Asian Cup.

“I want to be in the best shape for that, so if that means taking a bit of a break then I’ll do that, but not too much because it’s not too far away.”

Foord at Matildas training. Picture: AAP

Matildas coach Alen Stajcic says China’s world-class strike duo of Wang Shanshan and Wang Shuang must be muzzled if the Matildas are to beat their Asian rivals tonight.

The “Steel Roses” are the fourth-highest ranked team in Asia (13th on the FIFA world rankings) and loom as one of world No. 6 Australia’s biggest Asian Cup threats.

The 10-team tournament doubles as World Cup qualifiers, with the top five teams advancing to France 2019.

“China are excellent opposition. They’ve got two outstanding strikers that we’ll have to be careful of,” Stajcic said.

“Wang Shanshan is probably one of the best strikers in the world Wang Shuang is a versatile little left footer, very creative. Great dribbler, fantastic vision.”

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Originally published as Matildas star Caitlin Foord reveals she has no W-League contract now that Japanese season is over