Arsenal’s Catley looking forward to ‘priceless’ opportunity when Australia face South Africa | OneFootball

Arsenal defender Steph Catley says that South Africa offer a ‘priceless’ opportunity for the Australian national team to further their playing experiences ahead of a home FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.

The 28-year-old is a member of Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson’s 22-player squad for an international friendly fixture against Bayana Bayana which will take place at Chelsea’s Kingsmeadow Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Catley has only faced African opposition twice in her long career as a CommBank Matilda but the player does have an understanding of what challenge her team might face this weekend.

“We don’t play them often (African opponents) and when we have, they have been extremely strong, physical and fast so that makes them really hard to play against,” Catley said when speaking to Football Australia Media. “They have a lot of talent as well so when you mix those attributes, it can be really dangerous and if you are not organised as a team, then you can get really exposed.

“Having watched a little bit of South Africa, I expect a bit of a similar game. They are quite man-on-man so they want that physical duel, they want to be able to beat you physically and in those sorts of areas.

“A challenge like this going into a World Cup is priceless.”

With Australia set to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup alongside neighbours New Zealand next summer, Catley went on to say that it is vitally important that The CommBank Matildas experience playing against some very different opponents.

She said “Leading into a World Cup, it is important to play all different kinds of teams, they all possess different attributes that you have to be ready for and you have to be used to playing against.

“We play a lot of teams quite often so it’s nice to face a team that we don’t play often. It presents us with a different challenge and prepares us in a way that is so important going into a World Cup because you don’t know who you are going to get and you don’t want to get there and be completely shocked, that means that you lose the game.

“It’ll be a tough challenge but we are excited for it.”

Australia’s international friendly against South Africa kicks-off at 12.30pm on Saturday afternoon. Tickets for the Kingsmeadow clash remain on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.