As the 2027 Women's World Cup draws ever closer, the Matildas' preparations ramp up. For some players that will mean keeping fit and ready to perform in June and July next year to justify their selection. For others, this season will be their last opportunity to put themselves into Joe Montemurro's sightline and push their case for a World Cup berth.
While there are plenty of Aussies plying their trade in the A-League Women, a sizable contingent are taking to the pitch across the globe. The below list does not include Australians who have declared and played for other eligible national teams like Laura Hughes (Wales), Tijan McKenna (Croatia), and Mary Stanic-Floody (Serbia).
Nor does it track the Australians playing their football in the US college system for brevity. This is a list of the established Matildas, the national team hopefuls and the Aussies flying the flag overseas.
The list follows the order of Global Football Rankings' top leagues, to give readers an idea of the strength of minutes -- or lack thereof -- each player is getting.
There are 26 spots up for grabs in Montemurro's World Cup squad. Who will find form this season and make the new Matildas boss sit up and take notice?
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National Women's Soccer League
Mackenzie Arnold, 32, GK, Portland Thorns: Arnold has claimed the No. 1 spot in Portland, starting 20 matches and keeping seven clean sheets in her third season in the Rose City.
Sam Kerr, 32, FW, Gotham FC: The Matildas skipper joined Gotham midseason after six and a half years at Chelsea. She's scored three goals and claimed a bunch of records since returning to the NWSL.
Women's Super League
Steph Catley, 32, DF, Arsenal: An Arsenal stalwart, Catley was a constant in the heart of defence for the Gunners in the first half of last season. Injuries hampered her campaign post-Women's Asian Cup but she is set to once again be a leader from the back, starting the first game of the season.
Kyra Cooney-Cross, 24, MF, Arsenal: Cooney-Cross returned to the field in preseason action after taking time to be with her late mother. Building up her minutes will be the priority for the first half of the new season.
Caitlin Foord, 31, FW, Arsenal: Heading into season seven with the Gunners, Foord's role in this Arsenal team isn't set in stone. A starting spot is by no means a certainty and with only two goals in the league last season she'll be hoping to up her production. She featured off the bench in the opening game of the season.
Charlie Rule, 23, DF, Brighton & Hove Albion: After an impressive showing at the Women's Asian Cup, Rule will be looking to cement her spot in the Brighton starting XI. However, she will need to impress a new coach after Aussie Dario Vidosic departed the club a week before the new season began.
Leah Davidson, 25, MF, Charlton Athletic: One of a number of Melbourne City stars who has made the jump abroad, Davidson links up with two other Aussies at The Valley and will look to earn minutes as she pushes for Matildas selection.
Grace Johnston, 21, DF, Charlton Athletic: Johnston played every minute of every game for Perth Glory in the most recent A-League Women season to earn the move to Charlton. She featured off the bench in the Addicks' opening round defeat.
Emily van Egmond, 33, MF, Charlton Athletic: Following Leicester City's relegation, Van Egmond has signed with Charlton to stay in the FAWSL. The Matildas' caps record holder will look to use her experience to help keep the Addicks up.
Ellie Carpenter, 26, DF, Chelsea: Heading into year two with the Blues, Carpenter will once again be instrumental as Chelsea look to be back in the hunt for trophies in the FAWSL.
Holly McNamara, 23, FW, Everton: McNamara's move abroad was much anticipated, and Everton appears, on paper, like a great landing spot. Fans will be hoping for game time and goals for the former Melbourne City forward. She logged a full 90 in the Toffees' season opener.
Clare Wheeler, 28, MF, Everton: Wheeler has cemented herself as a key part of the Toffees and has been utilised across multiple positions. Another strong season in blue will be a positive for the national team.
Alanna Kennedy, 31, DF, London City Lionesses: Kennedy didn't establish consistent minutes for London City last season, and following the team's insane recruiting this offseason, how she is utilised in the team will be an interesting watch, particularly through a national team lens. She started in week one as a defensive midfielder and played a full game.
Mary Fowler, 23, MF, Manchester City: This will be her first full season back post-ACL and Fowler will aim to get back to the stunning form she showed pre-injury. A fit and firing Fowler will be a positive for Manchester City as they aim to win back-to-back titles and the Matildas and she has gotten off to a hot start, scoring a goal against Birmingham City.
Clare Hunt, 27, DF, Tottenham Hotspur: Injury cruelled the back half of Hunt's season for Spurs after she played every minute of the first 16 league games. She is still on the sidelines with that knee injury but she'll be aiming to get back to her best in 2026-27.
French Première Ligue
Teagan Micah, 28, GK, OL Lyonnes: The focus for Micah at the moment is getting healthy after continued concussion symptoms have kept her from the park. A clean bill of health and some match minutes are the goal for the keeper.
Annalise Rasmussen, 21, FW, Toulouse (on loan from Juventus): Rasmussen was a huge midseason transfer out of the A-League Women, joining Juventus. For the start of the new season, she's on loan at Toulouse and made a cameo off the bench in the first round.
🗂 File this one under 'Things we (g)LOVE to see' 🧤
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) August 14, 2026
After suffering a concussion at the start of the year, Teagan Micah has hit the training pitch for the first time. Great to see you back, Teags! 👏
📸: @ol__lyonnes#Matildas #MatildasAbroad pic.twitter.com/cUooA9aJyy
Serie A Femminile
Alex Chidiac, 27, MF, FC Como: Heading into her second season with Como, Chidiac will look to push her Matildas case once again and build upon her 17 league appearances and three goals from last season.
Winonah Heatley, 25, DF, AS Roma: Heatley enters her sophomore season at Roma with a full slate of league, cup, and UEFA Women's Champions League commitments ahead of her. She featured in 17 games across the league and the Champions League last campaign and will look to log even more minutes in 2026-27.
Jacynta Galabadaarachchi, 25, MF, Sassuolo: Galabadaarachchi will suit up for Sassuolo once again and will look to build on her minutes from last season. She featured in 13 league games last season, making appearances mostly off the bench.
Frauen-Bundesliga
Jamilla Rankin, 23, DF, Eintracht Frankfurt: Firmly on the fringes of the Matildas squad, Rankin will look to establish herself at new club Frankfurt, after transferring from Hoffenheim. She has started the season playing 133 minutes across league and Champions League qualifying.
Hayley Raso, 32, FW, Eintracht Frankfurt: Raso has already featured for Frankfurt, contributing a goal in their ultimately unsuccessful quest for Women's Champions League football and playing in the opening three rounds of the Frauen-Bundesliga season.
Leia Varley, 24, DF, FC Nürnberg: In her first full season with Nurnberg following her midseason transfer from Brisbane Roar, Varley has played almost every minute of every match this season.
Damallsvenskan
Aivi Luik, 41, DF, BK Häcken: While she hasn't been in Matildas conversations in a few years, Luik continues to play at the highest level in Sweden and will play Champions League with Hacken.
Charlotte Grant, 24, DF, Malmo: After a long injury layoff, Grant is back on the pitch, swapping Tottenham for Malmo alongside two Matildas teammates. She recently played a full 90 minutes in the league as she continues to rebuild.
Courtney Nevin, 24, DF, Malmo: Playing her second season for Malmo, Nevin has had a mixed bag of minutes, ranging from three-minute cameos off the bench to full 90s in the league and the Champions League. Consistent game time will be the key for the rest of the season.
Amy Sayer, 24, MF, Malmo: Sayer has featured in every game for Malmo so far this season, starting more often than not, recording four goals and an assist. She will be hoping that club game time leads to more national team game time.
4️⃣ Fjärde målet för säsongen för Amy Sayer. pic.twitter.com/VLh0VFVZWK
— Malmö FF (@Malmo_FF) August 24, 2026
Isabel Gomez, 24, MF, Rosengard: Gomez was one of a number of high-profile transfers out of the A-League Women and since landing in Sweden, has gone about building game time for Rosengard.
Bryleeh Henry, 23, FW, Rosengard: Another Melbourne City championship-winner who has found her way to Sweden, Henry has started four out of five games for a Rosengard side fighting to stay up.
Remy Siemsen, 26, FW, Rosengard: Siemsen has swapped Kristianstad for Rosengard and is currently top scorer for the team with five goals. She is getting a heap of game time and will be focusing on keep Rosengard in the Damallsvenskan.
Daniela Galic, 20, MF, Vittsjo: In her second season with Vittsjö, Galic has made herself a key part of the team, starting all but one game all season, logging impressive minutes, and recording five goals and two assists in that time.
Women's Super League 2
Alexia Apostolakis, 20, DF, Bristol City: A winner with Melbourne City last season, Apostolakis played out 78 minutes in her Bristol City debut. But the team lost heavily to Sunderland, 4-1, in their opening game of the season.
Rachel Lowe, 25, MF, Durham: Lowe signed with Durham after three seasons with Melbourne Victory. She played a full 90 in the opening weekend of the season.
Kaitlyn Torpey, 26, DF, Newcastle United: Torpey is playing her first full season for Newcastle and opened the season with a full 90 performance at left back as her side won 2-0. Plenty of minutes will be the key for her to continue donning the green-and-gold for the Matildas.
Leticia McKenna, 24, MF, Nottingham Forest: The A-League Women championship winner with Melbourne City announced her move to Nottingham recently and as such was not in the matchday squad for the first week of games. Building minutes in a new league will be the aim once she settles in.
Alana Murphy, 20, MF, Nottingham Forest: In her first full season with Forest, Murphy got off to a great start, playing a full 90 and scoring a cracking goal in her side's 1-1 draw in the opening round of the new season.
Toppserien
Hana Lowry, 23, MF, Valerenga: Departing Sydney FC at the end of last season, Lowry has played into the Toppserien season, graduating from cameos off the bench to starting appearances. She also played her role in the team's Europa Cup qualifiers.
Liga MX Femenil
Emily Gielnik, 34, FW, Pumas UNAM: Swapping Monterrey for Pumas, Gielnik has scored one goal in her five games for the club, featuring mostly off the bench.
Campeonato Nacional Feminino
Matilda McNamara, 27, DF, Racing Power: In her second stint abroad, McNamara will be looking to build on from her strong campaign with Adelaide United in the most recent A-League Women season where she played 18 games plus an elimination final.
Ella Tonkin, 23, DF, Torreense: Another former Adelaide United stalwart who made the move overseas, Tonkin played 21 games across the regular season and the finals series, captaining the Reds on multiple occasions. She'll be looking to do much of the same once the Portuguese season starts.
Sophie Hoban, 25, MF, Torreense: The former Newcastle Jets star will link up with Tonkin for Torreense and will look to log plenty of minutes from the centre of the park for her new side.
Scottish Women's Premier League
Milly Boughton, 20, MF, Hibernian: After spending time on loan at Motherwell last season, Boughton will be hoping to cement her place in the starting XI for Hibernian.
Kyah Simon, 35, FW, Hibernian: Another player who hasn't been in Matildas considerations for a few years, Simon is looking for a fresh start in Scotland.
Northern Super League
Kahli Johnson, 22, FW, Calgary Wild FC: A few more injuries have meant Johnson hasn't been able to play consistent minutes for the Wild but her four goals so far this season are a solid return in her second year in Canada.
Tori Tumeth, 25, DF, Vancouver Rise: Since her move to Vancouver following the conclusion of Sydney FC's A-League Women season, Tumeth has been a key part of the reigning NSL champions' lineup, even captaining the side.
There are a handful of other Aussies who are flying the flag but aren't really in Matildas conversations.
These are players like Ava Piazza in the Greek Women's Super League with AEK Athens and Sarah O'Donoghue in the second tier in China with Shanxi Xihua.
There's also Madison McComasky at Durham, Anna Margraf at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Polly Doran at Linkoping and Emma Ilijoski at Odense Boldklub.
Then there are youngsters like Astrid Bocci and Cece Los who have signed with FC Como and FC Twente respectively.
Disney+ is the only place Australia and New Zealand football fans can watch all 75 matches UEFA Women's Champions League live each season, with selected live games featuring on ESPN and ESPN2, available via Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV and Sky NZ.