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Caitlin Foord says the Matildas are determined to win the upcoming Asian Cup and is confident their star-studded forwards can deliver the goals to do it.
Superstar skipper Sam Kerr, Kyah Simon, Tameka Yallop, Clare Polkinghorne, Aivi Luik and Lydia Williams are the only players remaining from Australia’s sole triumph, under Tom Sermanni in 2010.
Foord missed he 2018 campaign due to injury as the Matildas lost to Japan in the final.
But she was in the team that finished runners-up in 2014 and wants to go one better.
“We want to win major tournaments and this is a good opportunity to do that,” Foord said.
THE ROAR’S COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE MATILDAS ASIAN CUP CAMPAIGN
“It’s been a long time since we have raised the Asian Cup and I think with the team and the squad we have, the time is now.
(AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
“We’ve fallen short twice now and we don’t want to have to do that again.
“It’s the goal for this tournament: we want to win it.”
Kerr headlines a super-talented group of forwards, which includes Foord, Simon, Hayley Raso and Mary Fowler, eyeing glory in India this month.
A-League Women breakout stars Cortnee Vine and Holly McNamara are also in the squad.
“With the team we have, the players we have, there’s going to be chances, there’s going to be opportunities, we’re definitely going to create that,” Foord said.
“It’s now just about finishing them off.
“We always come from our clubs into the national team so it’s about finding the connections back quickly and putting it all into place.”
Assistant coach Jens Fjellstrom has come on board to support Tony Gustavsson and will play a key role with the forwards, who are preparing to face deep-lying defences in their group matches.
“He has really good ideas and I think he’s going to help us a lot this tournament with breaking down teams and opponents — (something) recently we haven’t really been used to,” Foord said.
“We’re probably going to face a lot of teams that drop and sit off and try and make it difficult for us.
“He’s already started planting the seed with ideas and solutions to how to break that down.”
Foord has extra motivation to succeed.
The 27-year-old had a stellar first season at Arsenal, but injuries and England international Beth Mead’s return to form have limited her opportunities.
“My main focus is just to have a good Asian Cup here and to obviously set me up nicely to go back into club and help fight for that position,” Foord said.
Australia open their campaign against Indonesia on Friday night at 9pm (AEDT) with games shown on Network 10 and the 10Play app in Australia.
© AAP
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