The 2026 A-League Women All Stars game is just around the corner, with the squads and kits announced for both teams as the All Stars take on WSL giants Chelsea in Sydney as part of the Sydney Super Cup. Here's who got picked and an analysis of what we can expect from this blockbuster event.

The All Stars squad

A squad of 18 players has been selected, representing seven of the 11 A-League Women clubs. The side also represents six of the nine state member federations (including many regional areas), with the sole exceptions being the ACT, the Northern Territory and South Australia. The squad also includes four New Zealanders (Claudia Bunge, Grace Jale, Bek Stott and Pia Vlok), as well as four players representing foreign countries (Angie Beard, who was born in Australia, plays for the Philippines; Kayla Morrison is American but holds dual Australian citizenship; Brooke Nunn is English and is also eligible for Germany and Nigeria; and Makala Woods is American).

The team has similarities to the PFA A-League Women Team of the Season, though they aren't identical (especially as the PFA's team includes four players who have since left the league for European opportunities). Seven of the 18 players selected by the PFA were selected for the All Stars, including four of the starting 11.


Four of the 18 players in the squad also featured in the inaugural game against Arsenal in 2024, which ended in a 1–0 win for the Gunners in Melbourne. These were Mackenzie Hawkesby, Kayla Morrison, Bek Stott and Tameka Yallop. The rest of the squad is completely fresh ahead of the second All Stars game, this time against Chelsea in Sydney.

In the list below, players are listed in order of position first and alphabetical order by surname second, as the squad numbers are yet to be assigned. Their first names are in sentence case, while their last names are in capitals.

* Born in Australia.
** Holds dual citizenship.
^ Currently a free agent.
^^ Joined Wellington Phoenix.

The coaching staff is headed by Jeff Hopkins, the head coach of Melbourne Victory. His assistants are Matildas legend and Melbourne City backup goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri and Adelaide United assistant coach Maruschka Waldus, while Newcastle Jets goalkeeper coach Claire Coelho takes the same role as she does at club level for the All Stars.

My thoughts on the All Stars squad


In my opinion, I believe that while the All Stars squad does include some big names as well as some good players, I do have a few issues with it. While many players left for overseas opportunities and were thus unable to be picked, I don't believe that this is the best 18 players from the league. Some players who missed out such as Peta Trimis from Central Coast Mariners got to play for a ceremonial Auckland FC side's 7–0 loss against Chelsea (a match I criticised for ignoring Wellington Phoenix in favour of a club that's yet to field a women's team), while others such as Sasha Grove from Canberra United and Teresa Morrissey from Perth Glory weren't selected for either squad.


I also feel that the squad fails to represent the entire A-League, and with just 18 players it's too small compared to the Chelsea squad with 26 much better players who train together multiple times a week. In my opinion it would be much better to showcase the entire league, especially in front of potential newfound fans who were previously only interested in the Matildas and perhaps the WSL, as well as in front of travelling All Stars fans wishing to see players from their own clubs rewarded for having good seasons. Not a single player from Adelaide United, Canberra United, Central Coast Mariners or Perth Glory was selected in the squad, even though the former two made finals (with Canberra even making the semi-finals). In my view, every single club had at least one player who had a good season. For Sydney FC (my team) for example, going off the players still here I think our best player was absolutely Willa Pearson, a 15-year-old full-back who débuted at 14 (the youngest player and goalscorer in the league's history) and quickly became a starter at the club, being rewarded with the Player of the Season award at the Sky Blue Ball.

Our starting lineup

Below is my preferred starting 11, creating using FotMob:


Going in a classic 4-3-3 formation, I’ve put Brisbane Roar's Chloe Lincoln in goals based on her international experience with the Matildas, even though she wasn't the top goalie in the league last season. In defence, I've gone with another Roar player with international experience (first with the Tillies and now with the Philippines) in Angie Beard at left-back, who returned this season after a stint at AIK. For the two centre-backs I've chosen Kayla Morrison, one of Melbourne Victory's most experienced players, and Bek Stott, who captained Melbourne City to the double and is a candidate for the new captaincy of the Football Ferns after Ali Riley's retirement. At right back, I've gone with Melbourne City's Karly Røstbakken, a Matilda who previously played in Norway's Toppserien thanks to her Norwegian heritage (though her grasp of the language remains less than fluent).


In midfield, on the left I've gone with Wellington Phoenix's Grace Jale (of course pronounced [dʒaːleː] in Fijian), a Football Fern who attended uni in the US, playing in the American college system for Wake Forest Demon Deacons. In the middle, I've picked Gold Coast teenage talent Shelby McMahon, who plays for City and has worked her way into their starting 11 at just 17 and has made a profound impact both in the league, in the Champions League and as a Junior and Young Matilda. On the right I had to put another City player in Leticia McKenna, a Matilda who won the FIFA Series in Kenya and scored in the tournament, as well as the sister of former Perth Glory and now Vålerenga player Tijan McKenna, who has floated between Australia at youth level and Croatia at senior level before reverting to the Tillies.


Up front, I've put the sister of Brøndby future Socceroo Marcus Younis, future Matilda and current Young Matilda (but like her brother also eligible for Lebanon) Talia Younis, who had a great season despite being part of a side that won back-to-back wooden spoons (and choosing to remain at Western Sydney Wanderers for next season). At striker I've gone with another Nix player in rising Ferns star Pia Vlok, who became the first Wāhinix player to score a hat-trick and the second-youngest player to score three goals in the league's history. To round up the lineup, at right-winger I've picked City's winger and TikTok-famous Aideen Keane after a solid season at the club, and she'll be coming up against a player she was particularly excited to play against: Katie McCabe, due to both being "Irish [and] aggressive". While as a Sydney FC fan I do wish City weren't so dominant in the 11, I do feel like this is our best team on paper, perhaps with Tameka Yallop interchangeably at CM.

The Chelsea squad


Chelsea, managed by Frenchwoman Sonia Bompastor, are taking a 26-player squad on tour to Auckland and Sydney, including Matildas star and right-back Ellie Carpenter, regarded as one of the best defenders in the women's game. The players have all been assigned numbers, though the numbers 3, 13, 14, 18 and 20 are unassigned while 32, 33, 38, 40 and 42.

The squad is mostly full strength with some good depth, though two key players missing are experienced Swedish defender Nat Björn, who was initially scheduled to travel with the squad but has not done so, and a new signing in highly-rated Japanese midfielder Manaka Matsukubo. One of the 26 players, Irish left-back and Ireland captain Katie McCabe, the partner of Arsenal and Matildas midfielder Caitlin Foord, played in the inaugural All Stars game for Arsenal before making a highly controversial move to arch-rivals Chelsea in June this year (I wrote an article on this transfer, feel free to check it out).

14 different nationalities are represented in the Blues' squad. One player each represents Australia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Scotland and Switzerland, while more than one represent England (10), France (two), the Netherlands (two) and the US (two).

In the list below, players are listed in order of their squad number. Their first names are in sentence case, while their last names are in capitals.

^ Full name: Nelly Lašová; shortened to Nelly Laš or Nelly Las.
* Born in Malta.
** Born in England.

What we can expect (and hope for)


With Chelsea having just come off the back of a gigantic 7–0 win over a ceremonial Auckland FC team in Auckland, Chelsea are clearly the heavy favourites for the match, though it's unlikely to be worse than 7–0. The Women's All Stars are yet to win a match, having lost the inaugural game 1–0 to Arsenal in Melbourne, with the Gunners side featuring Matildas Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord. A victory for the All Stars would be unexpected, but also a phenomenal moment in the league's history, as well as the perfect way to wrap up a successful Sydney Super Cup, which also saw men's matches in which Chelsea defeated Western Sydney Wanderers in a thrilling contest, Sydney FC took Tottenham all the way to a penalty shootout and narrowly lost, and a spectacle in which over 80,000 fans watched a 10-man Spurs beat Chelsea for the first time since 2023.


Another thing we should hope for is stellar individual performances. In a showcase against one of the world's best teams and many undoubtedly world-class players, playing well will be tough, so if any one manages to do well, it's a huge achievement despite it only being a preseason game. Plenty of young talent continues to grow in the A-League before being exported overseas, with dozens of women's soccer players born in Australia plying their trade across the globe. A standout performance against a top side could greatly benefit a player's career ambitions, including both overseas moves and Matildas call-ups, with the World Cup coming around next June in Brazil.

As for what we as fans and spectators can expect: a great atmosphere, good food and drinks, merch shops, jersey swaps between players, opportunities to meet the players and loads of fun in what should be a great outing for women's sport in Australia!

Conclusion


That concludes my analysis ahead of the 2026 A-League Women All Stars game! Let me know what you think in the comments!

UP THE ALL STARS!!!!!