Vine and McNamara grab remaining spots in Matildas’ Asian Cup squad

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has gone on the attack in selecting the final two players of his Asian Cup squad.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson is happy with his Asian Cup squad. Picture: Mark Kolbe / Getty Images

Forwards Cortnee Vine and Holly McNamara have secured the final two spots in the Matildas’ Asian Cup squad after impressing at a pre-tournament camp in Dubai.

Sydney FC’s Vine and Melbourne City’s McNamara edged out Karly Roestbakken and Wini Heatley – both defenders in the battle of four players for the two remaining places in coach Tony Gustavsson’s 23-strong squad for the tournament in India.

“I think a lot of people out there probably thought we were going to go with one defender, one attacker out of the four players,” Gustavsson said.

“However, we felt that with the experience and the multifunctional players that we already had selected for this tournament, we have the cover in the defensive positions.

“This wasn’t a case of Karly Roestbakken and Wini Heatley playing themselves out of contention, but a case of Cortnee Vine and Holly McNamara playing themselves into the Asian Cup squad.

“We decided instead that we will select the best players for this tournament that are in the best form.

“Holly and Cortnee have shown us that’s the case right now and they deserve to be selected.”

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has a ‘good feeling’ about his Asian Cup squad. Picture: Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

The Matildas, whose squad includes six players from the A-League women’s competition, open their Asian Cup campaign on Friday night against Indonesia in Mumbai, before next week meeting the Philippines and Thailand.

“Right now, the only focus is the opening game,” Gustavsson said.

“We want to start on the front foot. We want to have a good performance to open the tournament in the best way possible and that’s where all the focus is.

“I have a really good feeling about the group. You can see that there are a lot of players that are starting to find their vibe and that tournament vibe.”

Matildas’ Asian Cup squad: Mackenzie Arnold, Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Emily Gielnik, Charlotte Grant, Alanna Kennedy, Sam Kerr, Aivi Luik, Holly McNamara, Teagan Micah, Courtney Nevin, Clare Polkinghorne, Hayley Raso, Remy Siemsen, Kyah Simon, Emily van Egmond, Cortnee Vine, Clare Wheeler, Lydia Williams, Tameka Yallop.