Star striker keen for Matildas recall

Kyah Simon has targeted a Matildas return after rejoining Sydney FC, and has endorsed the claims of Sky Blues coach Ante Juric to take charge of the national women’s team.

Simon has parted ways with the Central Coast Mariners to return to the Sky Blues for the 2024-25 A-League women’s season.

It will be the 33-year-old striker’s third stint with the Sydneysiders in a club career that has also included spells with Tottenham, PSV Eindhoven, Houston Dash and Boston Breakers.

“I’ve always felt a deep connection with Sydney FC,” Simon said.

“Winning is in the club’s DNA and is one of the main reasons for me returning.”

A successful return to the Sky Blues would also enhance Simon’s chances of adding to her 111 Matildas caps.

A controversial selection in Australia’s squad for last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup due to her carrying a knee injury into the tournament, Simon wasn’t used at all in the Matildas’ run to the semi-finals.

She then wasn’t a part of the Matildas squad that failed to progress past the group stages of this year’s Paris Olympics women’s football tournament.

However, Simon hasn’t lost hope of a recall to the national squad.

“I wouldn’t be playing this sport if I was always trying to strive and challenge myself,” she said.

“Ultimately, the goal is to stay in the Matildas set-up for as long as I feel (until) the time is right to step away from that.

“I have confidence within my ability that if I can consistently play minutes, play 90 minutes, week in, week out, I give myself the best opportunity to be back in that set-up.”

Simon liked the recent appointment of her former national mentor Tom Sermanni as interim Matildas coach.

“I have a long history with Tommy Sermanni. He was the head coach that brought me into the Matildas set-up all the way back in 2008. I’ve kept a really great relationship with him over the years,” she said.

“He’s the perfect appointment for an interim coach He’s had a long-standing history with the team, he’s been successful, and he’s just a great guy.”

Simon also backed Juric – a multiple A-League women’s championship-winning coach and a former national under 17 and under 20 women’s teams mentor – to succeed if chosen by Football Australia as the permanent successor to former Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson.

“I’ve had a long-standing relationship with Ante. He’s a quality coach, his track record speaks for itself, in terms of what he brings to the club and what he can offer as a coach.

“It’s up to him in terms of personal preference where he sees his career going, but he’s definitely proven his value as a head coach at club level, and who knows what is next on the cards for him.”

Whoever gets the job as Gustavsson’s permanent replacement, Simon wants a coach with a “really high football intelligence in terms of taking our team to the next level tactically”.

“We have a great team, a great foundation of athletes, of players that have played in the team for over 10 years now,” she said.

“(The Matildas need a coach) to take us to the next level in terms of that tactical awareness, (and) that footballing ability to enable us to go that next level, and to get ourselves back in that top five in the world.”