Gustavsson baulked at using his depth players at the World Cup,and has attracted criticismfor asking too much of the same core group of starters during major tournaments,but he and stand-in captain Steph Catley said they were confident the next crop will be up to the task against the world No.31-ranked Mexicans,who last month fell to Brazil in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals.
The long list of absentees has yielded chances for uncapped duo Winonah Heatley and Sharn Freier,as well as US-based defender Kaitlyn Torpey,who debuted inAustralia’s qualifying victories over Uzbekistan earlier this year,while rarely used players like Everton midfielder Clare Wheeler should see more substantial game time.