Although the Matildas roster for the 2025 SheBelieves Cup includes plenty of veterans, there are several players worth mentioning that may not be familiar to those outside of Australia.
Leading that list is Daniela Galić, an 18-year-old attacking midfielder, was branded “the future of Australian football” before she even turned pro, and after two pro seasons in Australia, is now playing in the Netherlands for FC Twente, which currently sits two places below Ajax, a team with a teenage attacking midfielder that has been the subject of similar pronouncements (si.com, backheeled.com): Lily Yohannes, who committed to the United States Women’s National Team last November.
One player on the Matildas roster is uncapped: 23-year-old forward Laini Freier, who only made her pro debut in December 2024, but had back-to-back hat-tricks later that month. Laini has a twin sister, Sharn Freier, who will be joining VfL Wolfsburg later this year.
Other notable players with just a handful of caps include forward Holly McNamara, who, at age 22, has already battled three ACL injuries, and 27-year-old center-back Natasha Prior who retired at age 21 due to concussion concerns but earned her first international cap last year after a strong performance in her first full pro season back.
Additionally, 23-year-old outside-back Charlotte “Charli” Grant, who has 29 caps for Australia, has primarily played the role of an understudy so far, but could be looking at a starting role in the next FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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- Daniela Galić (midfielder, age 18)
- Laini Freier (forward, age 23)
- Holly McNamara (forward, age 22)
- Natasha Prior (center-back, age 27)
- Charlotte “Charli” Grant (outside-back, age 23)
Daniela Galić (midfielder, age 18)
Declared “the future of Australian football” in August 2022, before she even turned pro, by commentator and former Canberra United player Grace Gill (aleagues.com.au), labeled a “teenage phenom” (smh.com.au) and “rising star” (The Guardian) in the media, and described as a “teenage sensation” and “teenage star” by the A-Leagues press office (aleagues.com.au), Daniela Galić is certainly shouldering high expectations, especially with a move to a UEFA Women’s Champions League club shortly after her 18th birthday.
Following two strong seasons in Australia, where she scored nine goals and registered nine assists across 39 matches for Melbourne City (press release), the 5’6″ Galić signed a two-year contract with Dutch club FC Twente ahead of the 2024-2025 season (FC Twente press release).
At age 17, Galić was the second-youngest player to tally a hat-trick in the women’s A-League (Instagram). She left Australia as the reigning A-League Women’s Young Footballer of the Year, an award that was won three times in a row by current Olympique Lyonnais defender Ellie Carpenter.
Galić was first called up to the Matildas as a training player in February 2024 (Matildas profile) but did not maker her senior international debut until October 2024.
As a Young Matilda, Galić played in the 2022 edition of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup but not the 2024 edition, as she was presumably not released by FC Twente (reading between the lines of this Young Matildas roster release).
Galić has yet to make a splash in the Netherlands, having only played two Vrouwen Eredivisie matches, but she did score her first professional goal on European soil during a Champions League match (matildas.com.au, UEFA.com match page). (In comparison, Lily Yohannes, who is just over a year younger, played in 20 of 22 league matches last season as a 16-year-old while tallying 5 goals and registering 4 assists. Yohannes is on track for similar numbers this season. – fbref.com)
Though, given her age and highlights so far, it is probably only a matter of time before Galić has a breakthrough year in Europe and on the international stage. However, a more open question is whether that will be a true star-making turn or just an honorable mention.
Spelling note: Galić, who is of Croatian descent (aleagues.com.au), uses a “c” with an acute accent (ć) in her family name on her Instagram account. Official sources such as Matildas.com.au, UEFA.com, and the FC Twente website do not use the accented “c”.
Laini Freier (forward, age 23)
Although the older of the Freier twins by 24 minutes (Moreton Daily article), Laini’s younger sister, Sharn, would be the first to debut in the A-League Women, joining the Brisbane Roar ahead of the 2023-2024 season. Within a year, Sharn would be called up to the Matildas, score an international goal, be named to the 2024 Paris Olympics roster as an alternate, then be added to a gameday roster, and make an appearance in the Olympics against Germany as a substitute, where she faced up against Alexandra Popp (aleagues.com.au). Oh, and at the end of this past January, Sharn just signed with Popp’s team, VfL Wolfsburg and will join them in the summer (Wolfsburg press release).
But, enough about the younger Freier.
Laini joined the Brisbane Roar in September 2024 (press release). However, she missed the preseason and the first four weeks of the season due to an ankle injury (aleagues.com.au).
After two substitute appearances, Laini announced her arrival with back-to-back hat-tricks in her first two starts, against the Newcastle Jets on December 21st and then Western United on December 29th (Moreton Daily article). She added one more goal and is currently in a five-way tie for most goals scored (A-League Women player leaderboards).
One day after being named to Australia’s SheBelieves Cup roster, Laini signed a two-year contract extension with Brisbane Roar that could keep her with the club through the 2026-2027 A-League season (Roar press release).
As tweens, the Freier twins were the subject of a club versus state controversy where the Queensland coach told them not to play in a club grand final that was two days before a national tournament (The Courier Mail article).
Holly McNamara (forward, age 22)
Before her last ACL injury in November 2023, McNamara had scored six goals in the opening five league matches of the 2023-2024 season for Melbourne City.
So far, for the 2024-2025 season, McNamara has scored two goals over nine appearance, though with only two starts (Melbourne City stats profile).
McNamara’s first ACL tear, at age 15, was in her right knee, which was the same one she injured in 2023. About 21 months earlier, in February 2022, she suffered a rupture of her left knee’s ACL. McNamara also had a stress fracture in a foot when she was 17. (AAP article)
Natasha Prior (center-back, age 27)
Six years ago, Natasha “Tash” Prior retired from professional soccer over concerns from a scary concussion that caused her to lose consciousness “after accidently catching the elbow of Sydney FC striker Savannah McCaskill” (who is now a San Diego Wave midfielder) during a December 2018 match. That was her sixth concussion, according to her coach at the time, Heather Garriock. (Sydney Morning Herald article)
With a degree from the University of Canberra, Prior joined Deloitte and still works for that firm today (Reuters article). After a couple of years away from soccer, Prior returned and had short stints, but did not play a full season in Australia until 2023-2024 when she joined the Newcastle Jets.
The 2025 SheBelieves Cup is Prior’s second call-up after the Matildas’s extended November-December camp last year. Prior debuted in Australia’s second friendly against Brazil as a substitute and then went on to have starts in the two friendlies against Chinese Taipei and scored a goal in both of those matches, which were outside FIFA’s international window.
Prior’s father, Spencer Prior (Wikipedia bio, Reuters article), played professionally in his native England for over ten years, including in the Premier League with Norwich City, Leicester City, Derby County, and Manchester City (BBC article). After retirement, he transitioned to coaching, first as an assistant to Tom Sermanni during his second tenure as head coach of the Matildas. Spencer Prior has also been head coach of the Thailand Women’s National Team (2016-2017) and the Papua New Guinea WNT (2022-2023).
Charlotte “Charli” Grant (outside-back, age 23)
Although not really new, as she already has 29 caps and one unforgettable goal for the Matildas, defender Charli Grant has been mostly a supporting character during her time representing Australia, but is poised to become a key contributor in the next few years.
Grant was named to Australia’s squads for the COVID-delayed 2021 Summer Olympics and the 2023 FIFA WWC, but only saw one appearance across those tournaments. She was also an alternate for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but was not named to a gameday roster.
After right outside-back Ellie Carpenter suffered an ACL rupture in March 2022 (abc.net.au), Grant stepped into a starting role while the Lyon defender recovered (Matildas Paris 2024 Olympics media guide).
Grant’s lone senior international score was the insurance goal against England in Australia’s 2-nil victory in April 2023 (England highlights video).
One of Grant’s 29 caps came as a substitute against the USWNT in November 2021 (match report), so she will not be new to the USWNT or some of its fans.
Since January 2024, Grant has played for Tottenham Hotspur. Previously, she spent a few years in Sweden, first with FC Rosengård and then with Vittsjö GIK.
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