Could Central Coast Mariners striker Annalise Rasmussen be in line to secure a spot in the Matildas squad at this year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup?
The 20-year-old forward has been in red-hot form of late, with Saturday’s winning goal against rivals Newcastle Jets sending her clear at the top of the charts for the Ninja A-League Golden Boot.
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With eight goals to her name from 11 appearances so far this season Rasmussen is certainly in a purple patch in front of goal.
But could this form be enough to see her secure a spot in Matildas head coach Joe Montemurro’s squad for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in March? That was one of the big topics on this week’s episode of Dub Zone.
“She is in really good form,” said former Matilda and two-time Ninja A-League Champion Grace Gill.
“What I really like about Annalise Rasmussen is that she’s got this sort of level of instinct about her as a striker, and we saw that with the goal that she had against Newcastle.
She added: “Just the ability to nip in front of a player here (and she’s) now leading the Golden Boot race.
“She’s on track to double her overall career tally of goals in a single season,” added A-Leagues commentator Teo Pellizzeri.
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“I think she was in the mid 20’s for starts and in the low 40’s for appearances. Hadn’t got to double figure goals over the course of her career.
“But that’s sometimes the time and the investment you have to make in young players.
“She only misses out on Young Matilda’s eligibility by a couple of months. It’s hard to believe she’s 20 and she’s come this far already.
“The trajectory just continues to go up, and the performance backs it up.
Pellizzeri added: “Look, I think that at some point the aspiration should be to break into the Matildas.
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“It doesn’t have to happen overnight, but if you keep scoring, natural goal scorers are such an asset that there’s always a market for them, both in national teams and also at overseas clubs.
“If you win the Golden beat in Australia, people are going to pay attention to you.”
