We won’t underestimate Thailand: Catley

Westfield Matildas defender Steph Catley is adamant complacency won’t be a problem in Tuesday night’s 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup semi-final against Thailand.

The two nations met just three weeks ago in a pre-Asian Cup friendly in Perth, with the Westfield Matildas running out comfortable 5-0 winners.

But Tuesday’s clash at the King Abdullah II Stadium has more riding on it, with a spot in the final on the line for both nations.

“You can look at that [Perth friendly] and see how we played and the opportunities we created and we limited them to very few opportunities too,” Catley told https://matildas.footballaustralia.com.au/.

“You can look at that and take confidence but then in saying that they have just qualified for the World Cup as well so they are feeling pretty good about themselves.

“You don’t know what kind of team is going to come out on the day and you have to be ready for anything and make sure complacency doesn’t creep in.”

Matildas qualify for WWC2019

While winning the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup is top of the Westfield Matildas priority list right now, the squad can’t help but have one eye on next year’s FIFA World Cup.

Alen Stajcic’s side qualified for the 2019 tournament in France courtesy of Friday’s 1-1 draw with Japan.

“It was an amazing feeling. The last word cup was incredible and the more you go through, the more the more they start to mean,” Catley said.

“You appreciate how amazing of an experience it is and how much we deserve this as a team after being with each other for so long and working so hard.

“To be able to get it done the way we did, it’s what we deserved and worked hard for so it’s pretty exciting.”

As a reward for their outstanding achievement, the entire Westfield Matildas squad spent yesterday at the Dead Sea.

“It’s pretty incredible to be able to come to a place like this and do something as amazing as that,” Catley said.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity it was a pretty unique experience being able to get in water and float there horizontally. All the girls were so grateful for the break and morning off.”

Sam Kerr
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This article was originally published on the CommBank Matildas website.
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