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Harding was born in England but moved to Sydney aged six and has previously played in the A-League for the Newcastle Jets before shifting to the Wanderers in 2022,where she has hit career-best form. She played her junior football for Manly United.
“It’s obviously extremely exciting,something I’ve dreamed about for a very long time,” Harding said in a video on the Wanderers’ website. “Sometimes it didn’t really seem achievable … I was very overwhelmed,I actually burst out laughing[when I got the call] because I was so shocked.
“I’m going to go in there super positive and learn as much as I can from these players - they’re some of the best female players in the world so just playing around them is such a privilege.”
What next?
The Matildas will assemble for a camp in Dubai on Monday and will travel to Tashkent,Uzbekistan the day before the first leg of their Olympic qualifier on Saturday night.
The second leg will be played at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Wednesday 28 February.
The winner on aggregate over the two legs will book a spot at Paris 2024. Uzbekistan are ranked No.47 in the world by FIFA and the Matildas are expected to comfortably account for them,but they loom as a tricky opponent.
The challenges associated with travelling to central Asia will be new to some of the players in the squad - including Harding and Daniela Galic,the 17-year-old Melbourne City ace who will join them as a train-on player,which Football Australia also announced on Thursday.
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