Photo Credit: Pakawich Damrongkiattisak/Getty Images

The past few years has seen Australia grow in many ways, both in competitiveness on the international stage and in prominence on the home front.

Going deep into tournaments like the World Cup and the Olympics is a reasonable possibilities for the Australians now, and with this has come increased recognition, respect and fame at home.

However, the team has also learnt the hard way at times in recent years – namely the 2024 Olympics – that the longevity of the team needs to be kept front of mind. With many of the team’s stars in the second half of their 20s or into their 30s, the question is naturally raised about the next generation.

But if recent weeks are anything to go by, the future of the Matildas is looking pretty bright.

The Under 23 national team has been competing at the The 2025 ASEAN Women’s Championship, and won the tournament after defeating Myanmar in the final.

Although the opponents have not been at the top end of Asian talent, some of the competitng nations have qualified for major tournaments and the tournament is still valuable minutes for Australia’s young stars against senior players.

The following five players are just some of the players who have been particularly impressive this tournament and that fans of the senior Matildas should keep an eye on in years to come.

Holly Furphy (Forward)

Picking up the MVP Award and scoring four goals for the tournament, it certainly has been a big calendar year for Furphy. From picking up a debut A League Women’s contract earlier this year, the Melbourne Victory star has now made an underage national team for the first time and made herself right at home, scoring the match winner in this week’s final.

There are many facets to Furphy’s game. She can play as an outside winger type forward, with a solid crossing ability, but can also hold her own as a more central type of player.

When it comes to the senior Matildas the forwards may be the most well known but is also on average perhaps the oldest cohort in the Matildas squad.

Players like Furphy need to be given the opportunity to play with players like Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord to stabilise the transition to the next generation.

Isabel Gomez (Midfielder)

Although Gomez is not a total newbie to the senior Matildas team, she only got a brief opportunity to show what she is capable of at senior level during the series against Argentina earlier this year.

During this tournament, Gomez was really strong in the centre of midfield, playing a role that saw her as the pivot point in midfield but also pushing up into the heart of attack plenty of times.

She certainly proved that she can match it with senior level players, but the problem for Gomez is that she has plenty of competition at the senior Matildas level for her spot, including from players like Katrina Gorry, Kyra Cooney-Cross and even players like Adriana Taranto.

Alana Jančevski (Forward)

The tournament’s Rising Star winner, Jančevski is another dynamic forward who was particularly threatening out wide during this tournament.

After spending much of last A-League Women’s season playing out at left back out of necessity, Jančevski got to play in her more natural role in attack this tournament and certainly got amongst the scorers, scoring only one less goal for the tournament than Furphy.

When it comes to moving into the senior team Jančevski faces a similar situation to her Victory team mate Furphy. Hopefully the senior Matildas coaching staff recognises the need to bring the youthful forwards through while they still have players like Foord and Kerr at their disposal.

Tori Tumeth (Defender)

Tumeth is actually older than 23, but with no senior Matildas caps still fits into the category of emerging talents.

A central defender, the Sydney FC star was a really calming presence in defence for the U23s at this tournament, showing really strong composure with ball at foot and coordinating the defensive line. She also showed off her leadership experience more broadly, pulling on the captain’s armband on a couple of occasions, including the final.

Ever since Clare Polkinghorne retired almost a year ago, the Matildas coaches do not seem to have fully decided on a first choice central defence partnership. With her calm demeanor – crucial for a position at the heart of the most stressful situations on a football pitch – there is no reason to suggest Tumeth should not also be a part of these calculations.  

Although Tumeth does have experience out at right back, with first choice right back Ellie Carpenter and her heir apparent Charli Grant both being about the same age as Tumeth, Tumeth is more likely to push through to the senior team in the centre back role.