The international call-ups continue to come for Western United star Kahli Johnson, who will head into another CommBank Young Matildas camp at the end of the month.
While Johnson will be returning from a week-long training camp with the Under 23’s squad, the winger will have to repack her bags to join up with the Young Matildas.
The extended camp will run for almost three weeks, beginning with a period of training in Sydney before the side heads to Vietnam in early June for the second and final phase of AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup qualification.
Leah Blayney’s team will meet Vietnam as group hosts along with Iran and Lebanon, hoping to secure a top two spot in the group and thus a place in the tournament to be held in Uzbekistan next year.
Western United General Manager of Football Mal Impiombato said more selections for Johnson will only continue to be a positive thing for her development.
“Kahli is clearly doing a fantastic job whenever she goes on international duty and is repeatedly getting called back into camps based on her quality and her application,” he said.
“We are delighted that Kahli is consistently given opportunities to gain experience and develop at international level and we look forward to seeing her continue to put her best foot forward in the green and gold.”
The Young Matildas breezed through the initial qualification phase in March, with Johnson scoring in a 13-0 win over Guam before the side defeated the Kyrgyz Republic 7-0.
Johnson and her teammates will be eager to continue that form in the next stage of qualifying to reach the final tournament, which is undergoing some changes in 2024.
This will be the first time that this tournament will be played as an Under 20’s competition, having previously been known as the AFC U19 Women’s Championships.
Blayney and her team will be looking to make an impact in the new age format and carry on Australia’s recent success in junior women’s competition, with the Junior Matildas having won the AFF U18 Women’s Championship in 2022 – a side including Western United defender Silver Bell Morris.
This will continue a busy off-season period of international duty for Johnson, who will also head into training with the Future Matildas program over the break between Liberty A-League Women seasons.
Article image supplied by Football Australia.
