The Midfielders
The midfielder is positioned in the centre of the field between the forward and back line.
The role of the midfielders is to play both defense and attack, being the link that the
offense and defense of the team can rely on when they need it. The midfielder is an
important role and requires them to be all over the field depending on where the games
tempo currently is.
Tameka Yallop (Number 13)
Tameka was born on the 16th of June 1991 and debuted on the 4th of August 2007 against
Hong Kong in Hong Kong for the Olympic Qualifier. She joined Brisbane Roar early on in
2008 at 18 years old and won several big games with them before briefly playing in the
team the Ottawa Fury in 2010.
Tameka has been in almost every big soccer tournament from 2008 including the 2008
AFC Asian Cup Vietnam, to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New
Zealand, and she has also bee in the 2016 Olympic Games Squad and the 2020 Olympic Games Tokyo. Several clubs have taken up Tameka over the years such as West Ham
United, Mallbackens, Klepp, Brisbane Roar, Melbourne City, Boston Breakers, FFC
Frankfurt and Iga FC Kunoichi with her current club being SK Brann Kvinner.
Suffering from an ankle injury in October and undergoing surgery she is back for the
Australia Cup and on the squad ready to play. Tameka being able to play all over the field
is an asset to the team as she is very versatile and able to play most positions well.
Alex Chidiac (Number 8)
Alex Chidiac was born on the 15th of January 1999 and made her debut against New Zealand in Auckland on the 12th of February in 2015. Starting early on in her life, Alex
was involved with football and was playing on boys teams as the only girl, where she
would impress spotters and coaches to a point where she joined the Football South
Australia’s National Training Center program.
Alex has been in 2 major football tournaments, those being the AFC Women’s Asian Cup
2018, and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand. Also being
recognized from a young age with football talent she has been in multiple clubs including
the Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City, Adelaide City, JEF United Chiba & Atletico de
Madrid and Adelaide United, with her current club being the Racing Louisville.
Alex has developed a cult following amongst her fans, who often chant and show signs
which include “my neck, my back, my Alex Chidiac” Alex has claimed several awards
over her lifetime as well which include the Shirely Brown Medal and she claimed the
Victory Medal for Melbourne Victory. Outside of the sport Alex loves penguins and brings
the plush versions to the game as a lucky charm she calls it.
Katrina Gorry (Number 19)
Katrina was born on the 13th of August 1992 and made her debut against Japan in Tokyo on the 11th of July 2012. She played youth football for Mount Gravatt before moving
between multiple clubs usually only playing a season or two with them before moving up
the chain.
Throughout her career Katrina has participated in many tournaments from the 2014 AFC
Asian Cup Vietnam, to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand and
in-between those she also participated in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janerio.
Between these tournaments Katrina has been with many clubs including Adelaide United,
Brisbane Roar, Avaldnes IL, Vegalta Sendai, Ottawa Fury, Utah Royals, and Kansas City
with her current club being Vittsjo GIK.
Katrina became pregnant in 2021 and after having her kid she was quick to return back to
the Matilda’s in 2022, picking up right where she left off against New Zealand and was
named the Player Of The Match in a following match against the Trans-Tasman team. She
is a formidable asset to the team and plays her position as midfielder exceptionally well
and brings her child to many of her games.
Clare Wheeler (Number 6)
Clare was born on the 14th of January 1998 and made her late debut on the 21
st of September 2021 against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. She started playing football at
the young age of 10 for a local club, and only 3 years later was spotted and selected for the
state youth league in Northern NSW. Clare started mostly as a defender but later on moved
to being a midfielder, supporting her team in defense and offense now.
Clare has been apart of 2 of the major tournaments so far those being the 2022 AFC
Women’s Asian Cup India, and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New
Zealand. During and before these tournaments she had been apart of 3 different clubs, those being Fortuna Hjorring, Newcastle Jets, and Sydney FC, with her current club being
the Everton F.C.
Starting later than most of the team Clare is still showing her amazing potential to the team
and is an asset to the midfielder squad for the Matilda’s, only recently being permanently
signed on to her club as well.
Emily van Egmond (Number 10)
Emily was born on the 12th of July 1993 and made her debut against Korea on the 6th of
March 2010 in Brisbane. She has been playing football since the age of 5, even taking her
twin brothers place on a local team that her father had originally signed him up for. Her
father is also the former Socceroo and Newcastle United Jets coach, Gary van Egmond.
Emily has partaken in many of the major tournaments over her years of playing from the
2011 FIFA World Cup Germany to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New
Zealand, also being involved in the 2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janerio, and the 2020
Olympic Games Tokyo. Being involved since her early years she has been in many clubs
including the Newcastle Jets, Orlando Pride, Western New York Flash, Melbourne City,
Canberra United, Seattle Reign, Fortuna Hjorring, Western Sydney Wanderers, Chicago
Red Stars, West Ham United, Vfl Wolfsburg and FFC Frankfurt, with her current club
being the San Diego Wave FC.
Having appeared in over 120 games for Australia internationally, she is a well recognized
face for Matilda’s fans all over the Australia, and her intelligence on the field is astonishing
to most, understanding and reading the field in order to make amazing plays with the ball.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tameka_Yallop
https://www.matildas.com.au/player/tameka-yallop
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Chidiac
https://www.matildas.com.au/player/alex-chidiac
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_van_Egmond
https://www.matildas.com.au/player/emily-van-egmond#!/overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clare_Wheeler
https://www.matildas.com.au/player/clare-wheeler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katrina_Gorry
https://www.matildas.com.au/player/katrina-gorry
Images provided by Google Images
By J.C
