Woods and Lincoln look ahead to the opening match of the Young Matildas U20 World Championship

by Ben Gilby (29.8.24)

Above: Alicia Woods spoke from Bogotá today. Picture: Football Australia.

The Young Matildas are making their final preparations for their opening match of the U20 World Cup against the host nation on Saturday in the Colombian capital of Bogotá, with duo Alicia Woods and Chloe Lincoln appearing in confident mood earlier today.

“It’s pretty unreal to be honest!” exclaimed the Brisbane Roar midfielder when asked about her experience so far after 10 days in South America. “The experience in general has been unparalleled… It’s defined my whole life for the last few months.”

Speaking about her football career, which has taken her from Queensland to Bogotá, Woods said: “It started when I was five. I played with a few friends on my local team. When I grew up I played with the boys for 10 years. I was always on the field with the neighbours and I just fell in love with it. Then I progressed into women’s football and played for Peninsula Power (in the NPLW Queensland) for a few years and now Brisbane Roar.”

The midfielder is eternally grateful to the Roar for helping her improve her game to the point where she is part of Australia’s U20 World Cup team.

“They gave me the chance I was asking for. I worked towards this for so many years, it felt like an eternity. To finally get this chance and play a few games – since then it’s just exploded.

“It’s definitely a big jump from (NPLW) club football to the A-League, but being in that environment and training with girls like Tameka Yallop and Sharn Freier … has been an experience and has helped me become the player I think I’m going to be.”

Yallop has been a particularly key figure in Woods’ development as a midfield colleague, although the young Roar player admitted she was initially in awe of the Matildas legend.

“I was too scared to go up to her and say ‘hi’, but once I got the chance to be in the starting line-up and play alongside her in midfield, she was a huge help and guided me through the whole thing, coached me. She was just a huge role model for me.”

**Above:** The Estadio El Campin – the 39,000 capacity arena – will host the Young Matildas’ opening match against Colombia on Saturday. **Photo:** Alcadia of Bogota.

Woods laughed as she reflected on her first impressions after arriving at camp and how things are now ten days later: “I didn’t expect everyone to be so fit. Everyone is very fit and can run for miles.

“There’s a very physical element to the game that I probably wasn’t used to but it was a lot more intense and a lot more demanding but that’s a good thing. It’s going to be a big adjustment coming back to Brisbane just knowing what I’m capable of now compared to last season. I feel like that environment has helped me a lot over the last few months.”

Two days before the Young Matildas’ first group match against hosts Colombia, the midfielder believes the team is well positioned.

“The team is growing together well… we are all starting to understand each other and our goals and what we want to take away from the tournament and I think it looks like everything is going well.”

With group matches against Colombia, Mexico and Cameroon over the next eight days, Woods faces a new set of unique challenges, but her attitude is simple: “Bring it on!”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the different styles and aspects of their games and the different countries’ preferences when it comes to football. To see that here in Colombia – how much they love the sport and how much they are behind it – has been eye-opening.”

**Above:** Matildas’ young goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln speaks today. **Picture:** Football Australia.

Chloe Lincoln is about to compete in her second U20 World Championships, but admits it comes with a very special challenge – the altitude.

“We have had an incredible two-year journey, but the last two weeks as a group have done us a lot of good, we have obviously got used to the altitude and are now really looking forward to the game,” said the new signing from Western United.

“It was just a matter of getting used to the conditions. We’ve been pretty lucky to be here for so long, so we’re gaining more experience and we’re just getting used to it.

“I think it’s definitely not easy! If we do it together, we’ll all be in the same boat in the end. It’s definitely a tough fight, but we’ve been able to prepare well and everyone says it’s getting easier every day.

“Breathing is just quite difficult. We had a lot of preparation meetings about what to expect. I’m a little more tired than usual. I think there is a 20-30% performance deficit until you adapt your body, but it was good to have this experience now so we are ready for the opening game… The ball moves differently because of the altitude. You have to get used to it.”

However, Lincoln has one major advantage: it is first-hand experience of what it is like to face the host nation in the opening match – last time it was Costa Rica, this time it is Colombia. The amount of feverish support for the opposition in a packed stadium is something many of these Young Matildas players have never experienced before.

“We are so lucky to be playing against the host country for two tournaments in a row and it’s the opening game of the World Cup. One factor that definitely played a role in the Costa Rica game was the importance of the crowd and I think we will have a similar experience against Colombia… we have been told that the stadium is almost full or will be sold out (Estadio El Campin has a capacity of 39,000 – see picture earlier in this article). It’s very exciting, many of us have never played in front of such a big crowd so it will definitely be a new challenge.”