by Ben Gilby (7/3/24)
Above: Naomi Chinnama, who scored the winning goal in Australia’s 2-1 opening win against South Korea, speaking today. Image: Football Australia.
With the Young Matildas needing just a point from their final group game at the U20 Asia Cup to make the semi-finals and qualify for the U20 World Cup, vice-captain Naomi Chinnama and Alexia Apostolakis outlined their relentless focus to ensure they make the historic achievement.
Chinnama, who took the captain’s armband for yesterday’s 2-0 win over Uzbekistan spoke of her pride in being able to execute the game plan in match two after the challenge of wading through 15cm of snow in their opening victory over South Korea.
“Despite the conditions in the first match, we adjusted well. It was nice in the second match to actually apply the principles we learned from Leah Blayney (head coach). In the first half, we definitely had more momentum, and we were glad to secure the 2-0 lead in the second.
“It was my first time wearing the captains’ armband in the last game, but I do like to make sure that I lead regardless of that on the field whether that be supporting the girls in the actions they take, whether that be some instruction, but also some positive reinforcement.”
One of the major points that has stuck with me throughout all of the Young Matildas’ media briefings this tournament is the real sense of togetherness and ‘one for all’ mentality that comes through powerfully. Chinnama confirmed this sense further as she said: “I feel as if this team is so united. Everyone gets along so well on and off the field.
“We have a lot of depth in the squad as you could see from it being a different line-up in the second game which shows how versatile our players are and the amount of qualities we have. Yet not only do they bring their qualities, they bring their personalities.”
The Melbourne City defender reflected that the fact that she has gradually earned more game time as the A-League Women season has gone by has allowed her to grow into her spot as a major component of the U20 side at this Asia Cup.
“It’s definitely helped. Match minutes mean match fitness and just a bit more experience in different areas and some, obviously reinforcement of knowledge that I’ve previously worked on.”
Saturday’s final group game with Chinese Taipei looms large on the horizon. The Young Matildas’ opponents need a win to qualify. Australia need just a draw. It’s a huge showdown.
“It means everything. That is why we are here. We have our eyes locked on the next game to take the three points,” Chinnama underlined.
Young Matildas defender Alexia Apostolakis feels that the team are on an upward trajectory as they continue to put into place all the facets of learning they have taken from their opening games ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Chinese Taipei.
“Some challenges that we’ve never faced before, and coming into a new squad as well…I think at the moment the squad is feeling pretty OK with two wins under our belt. There’s a few things that we need to sharpen up if we want to get into the finals…but I think for the two games we’ve played, we’ve put out what we’ve worked on and pretty good so far!
“With the conditions, we’ve really tried to push through that. As a team, we weren’t as happy with the last game (the 2-0 win over Uzbekistan). We definitely could have been a lot sharper, scored more goals, but I think it’s just the beginning for us. We have a lot more games to go. We can build on that.”
Apostolakis has been a member of the Young Matildas squad for the last two years, with the 17-year-old being a non-playing member of the team that travelled to the 2022 Under 20 World Cup in Costa Rica. She is absolutely determined to get the point needed to ensure qualification for this year’s tournament in order to get onto the pitch this time round.
“I’ve been in the under-20s squad for some time, but actually playing is something I’ve been working towards. To be a starter and playing these games is so important to me as it means my hard work has been coming into form.
“It means absolutely everything. I’ve been to a World Cup once (the 2022 tournament where Australia were nominated to take part after the qualification tournament was cancelled due to COVID) and we had a lot of adversity around how we got there, so feeling that we really earned it. It will mean a lot to Leah (Blayney, head coach) as well as the last time we qualified (in 2006), she was playing in it and now she’s coaching.
“Last time at the World Cup, I didn’t actually get on, I was one of the few that didn’t play, so that’s been one of my goals – to be on that pitch. We can take the experience and those learnings. For me, over the last two years, I have gotten better as a player and I want to be on that World Cup stage.”
Apostolakis is one of those rare Swiss Army Knife style players who can offer so much in so many different positions of the field. When she burst onto the scene at the age of 15 with Western Sydney Wanderers, she played at full-back. Now she can be found much further up the field for Robbie Hooker’s side. At this tournament, Apostolakis is playing centre-back. It’s a revolving challenge that the youngster continues to embrace.
“I honestly don’t know what position I love most (to play) on the pitch, I love playing everywhere, but for all that is, I just put my best foot forward and will play wherever the team needs me. The role for Wanderers has been amazing, but we’ll see where I play next. If I’m a versatile player it means I have more under my belt. If the coach needs to put me… I think that’s a good asset to have as a player.”
With all eyes firmly focused on Saturday’s big decider with Chinese Taipei, Apostolakis is confident that she knows exactly what the Young Matildas need to do to clinch both a semi-final U20 Asia Cup spot and U20 World Cup place.
“The key will be staying calm and composed and sticking to what we have worked on. It’s easy to get complacent and caught up in these things, but we are so close and we are almost there at the World Cup. So we need to keep playing how we are playing.”
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