Matildas duo among World Cup All Stars selection

Matildas duo Lisa De Vanna and Elise Kellond-Knight were named in the 2015 Women's World Cup All-Star squad, by FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG).

De Vanna Kellond-Knight

The 2015 Women's World Cup performances of Matildas pair Lisa De Vanna and Elise Kellond-Knight were acknowledged by FIFA's TSG (Getty) Source: Getty Images

The pair were standouts as Australia produced its best-ever performance at a World Cup, earning a maiden quarter-final berth in Canada.

Co-captain De Vanna starred as Australia's primary attacking weapon up front, while tireless midfielder Kellond-Knight was central to Australia's stunning round-of-16 upset of Brazil, after which she was named player of the match.

The victory over Brazil was Australia's first-ever knockout win from a senior team at a World Cup.

The Matildas would ultimately lose 1-0 to Japan in the quarter-final but not before capturing the imagination of the Australian public.
The squad announced on Monday, is made up of 23 players - mirroring an official tournament list, it comprises three goalkeepers and 20 outfield players, in this case seven defenders and 13 midfielders and forwards - who impressed FIFA's TSG experts during the tournament.

Also included were five players from the winning USA side, with Ballon d'Or winner Carli Lloyd and Golden Glove Hope Solo obvious selections, while Germany's Golden Boot winner Celia Sasic was also named.

The All-Star squad is:

Goalkeepers: Nadine Angerer, Karen Bardsley, Hope Solo
Defenders: Saori Ariyoshi, Lucy Bronze, Kadeisha Buchanan, Steph Houghton, Julie Johnston, Meghan Klingenberg, Wendie Renard
Midfielders and forwards: Ramona Bachmann, LISA DE VANNA, Amandine Henry, ELISE KELLOND-KNIGHT, Eugenie Le Sommer, Carli Lloyd, Anja Mittag, Aya Miyama, Megan Rapinoe, Mizuho Sakaguchi, Celia Sasic, Elodie Thomis, Rumi Utsugi


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Published 18 August 2015 9:59am

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