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The star forward has been named in Australia’s 23-player squad for the tournament to be held in the US later this month, while captain Sam Kerr and World Cup hero Cortnee Vine were not considered.
Fowler has struck a rich vein of form since opting to withdraw from the Australia squad for friendlies against Brazil last November with three goals and four assists in her past five matches for Manchester City.
“She’s playing very well, she looks on top of her game, she looks fit, she looks healthy,” Matildas interim head coach Tom Sermanni said. “She looks like she’s enjoying her football.
“She’s still some ways away from what I would call reaching her prime. She is already a world-class footballer. A football career is a journey, in many ways, and she’s on a really good trajectory on that journey at the moment.
“I want her to really step up in the national team and, if you like, lead by how she plays in the games. That’s important, but it’s also important for us to remember that she is getting good experience at the moment, but she’s still, in relative terms, quite a young player.”
Matildas captain Kerr has again been left out of the squad to allow the 31-year-old to continue her rehabilitation from a serious knee injury. Her absence is unrelated to her appearance in a London court on Monday charged with causing racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress after a night out in January 2023. Kerr has pleaded not guilty. The trial continues.
“She’s still injured, she’s not ready to play again yet,” Sermanni said. “I had some video of her and her physio over at Chelsea last week, doing some fairly strong running, so she’s in the process of coming back.
“But I …
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