WORLD CUP AT HER FEET

IT’S 38 degrees and the humidity level is 88 per cent.

Welcome to an Australian winter - Karina Roweth style.

The Millthorpe football junior is on an exercise bike in one of the NSW Institute of Sport’s heat chambers, one of the many sacrifices Roweth is prepared to make in order to achieve her World Cup dream with the Young Matildas.

“It’s hard work but it’s really good to have those facilities at NSWIS. We’re using them twice a week at the moment but that will increase as we get closer,” Roweth said.

The Young Matildas, Australia’s under 20s women’s football team, are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to make the FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup in Germany next July.

Alen Stajcic’s team will head to China next month, where the mercury is expected to be in the 30s, to try and qualify for Germany.

And they will do so high on confidence after returning from a successful tour of Italy recently.

The Young Matildas trounced Finland 4-1 and 7-0 and women’s football powerhouse Germany 3-0 in Varese in late May, before defeating a combined senior and under 20s Thailand team 1-0 on their way back to Australia on June 5.

“It was a great experience. I was really happy with the game time I got,” said Roweth, who returned home over the weekend to visit family and friends and to celebrate her 19th birthday on Monday.

“I started every game bar one. Alen said he was starting his strongest team against Germany, so it gave me some confidence to start that match.

“Australia didn’t qualify for the last World Cup at this level (in Chile last year), but we have high hopes this time around.”

The right midfielder, who also spent time playing right back in Italy, has spent time in training camps with the Matildas over the past year.

Stajcic believes Roweth is one of several current Young Matildas with the potential make it all the way to Australia’s senior team.

“Definitely. There are eight or nine of the (Young Matildas) girls that have been in Matildas training camps, so the potential is there for those girls,” Stajcic said.

“But there is a long way between potential and reaching that sort of level.”

Stajcic says Roweth’s speed and high work-rate are her key strengths and doesn’t believe her lack of height will prevent her from becoming a Matilda in the future.

“Not really. Karina is a good athlete with a good engine. She is very fast and that’s a big strength of hers,” he said.

“She has a reasonable technique but like any player she has things she needs to work on. Her heading’s not that brilliant, so she can improve there.

“But she’s definitely a player with a lot of good attributes.”

The Young Matildas fly out to South Korea on July 21 to play warm-up games, before heading to Wuhan in China, where they are in a group containing the host nation, Japan and Chinese Taipei.

If the Young Matildas finish in the top two in their group they will play a semi-final against either Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea or North Korea.

The winners of the semi-finals will progress straight to the World Cup, while the winner of the third versus fourth play-off will also qualify for Germany.