Illawarra Stingrays stars Caitlin Cooper and Michelle Heyman will look to strengthen their cases for selection for this year’s Asian Cup team when they travel to the 2018 Algarve Cup in Portugal this week.
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Both players will travel to Europe on Tuesday evening as part of a 22-player squad for the four game Algarve Cup tournament.
It will be one of the women’s national team’s last major hit-outs before the Asian Cup in April.
Shellharbour product Caitlin Foord is absent from the squad after undergoing surgery on a foot injury last week while Kyah Simon is also unavailable.
“We would love to have Kyah and Caitlin with us in Portugal however it is in their best interests to remain in Australia and continue their respective recoveries,” Matildas coach Alen Stajcic said.
“We’ll have four games over just eight days in Portugal, so the tournament will provide a chance for all the players involved in the squad to impress as we move towards the AFC Women’s Asian Cup."
The Matildas will play Norway, China PR, and hosts Portugal at the 2018 Algarve Cup.
They will then play a fourth ranking-based match at the 12-team invitational tournament.
