Cooper names CommBank Junior Matildas squad for qualifiers

CommBank Junior Matildas Head Coach Michael Cooper has confirmed the 23 playing squad for AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2026™ Qualifiers in October.

Australia will face Singapore and Northern Mariana Islands in Group E at Bishan Stadium in Singapore, with qualification offering a pathway to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026™. Players will enter a pre-camp in Sydney on 8 October 2025.

Qualifiers for the 10th edition of the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup™ – to be held in China – will feature 27 teams, who will be divided into eight groups.

Each group within qualifying will be competing in a centralised league format, with teams seeded into pots based on a points system derived from their final rankings across the previous three editions of the Finals, which saw the CommBank Junior Matildas drawn from Pot 1.

The squad will need to finish as one of the eight Group winners to advance to the Finals. For a complete list of Qualifying Groups for the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup™ China 2026 please click here.

22 players selected were involved in a national team training camp in September, with all players identified through standout showings in the National Premier Leagues competitions and state-based development programs.

Mike Cooper said he is looking forward to building on the team’s strong foundations in preparation for the qualification tournament.

“We’re excited to travel to Singapore with this talented squad as we begin our journey toward the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026™.

“Performance levels and attitude in camp have been excellent and we will look to build on these foundations and take them to new heights during the tournament.

“Qualifying for the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup is the first step towards our goal and is incredibly important. We’ve selected a group of players to reflect that importance, and we look forward to our matches against Northern Mariana Islands and Singapore.

“Our squad is blend of players who already have experience winning at international level – having recently lifted the ASEAN U16 Girls’ Championship trophy – and new faces who have earned their spot through performance at national team camp and their club environments.”

The AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers will kick off on Monday, 13 October 2025, with Australia opening its campaign against Northern Mariana Islands before facing host nation Singapore on 17 October. The group winners advance to the finals.

AFC U-17 WOMEN'S ASIAN CUP CHINA 2026™ QUALIFIERS | GROUP E 

Northern Mariana Islands v Australia
Date: Monday 13 October 2025
Time: 7.30pm (local) / 10.30pm AEDT  
Venue: Bishan Stadium, Singapore

Australia v Singapore
Date: Friday, 17 October 2025 
Time: 7.30pm (local) / 10.30pm AEDT 
Venue: Bishan Stadium, Singapore

COMMBANK JUNIOR MATILDAS | AFC U-17 WOMEN'S ASIAN CUP QUALIFIERS | OCTOBER 2025