EMERGING soccer talent Alexis Pantazopoulos will soon take another step towards realising her dream of becoming a Matilda.
A former Irymple Knights junior, the teenager will join a select group of Young Matildas prospects for a seven-day camp under national coaches early next month.
Pantazopoulos has been a dominant force in front of goals this season, so it’s no surprise those at the next level have been keeping an eye on her progress.
The camp, which will run from December 2 to 8 at the Home of the Matildas at La Trobe University in Melbourne, brings together a 24-player squad of promising under-15 players from across the nation.
Following the initiation from next year of annual FIFA under-17 Women’s World Cup tournaments, which will be held in Morocco for the next five years, selectors are taking note of the next generation.
Based in Melbourne, Pantazopoulos dominated this season for the National Training Centre under-15 side, who play in the NPL Victorian girls’ under-17 division, booting a massive 38 goals from her 26 matches this season.
The haul included seven hat-tricks as the NTC side went on to win the title with 23 wins, three draws and just one loss.
It followed Pantazopoulos last year scoring 47 goals in the NPL under-15 competition, which earned her a scholarship to renowned sports school Penleigh and Essendon Grammar this year.
Earlier in the year Pantazopoulos won the golden boot award at the Football Australia Girls’ National Youth Championships, hitting the back of the net seven times for Victoria Blue in the under-15 category.
The emerging talent also took part in the 2024 Nike Premier Cup, an under-15 Girls tournament in the USA in July.
Representing Football Victoria, the squad she was a member of were in Portland, Oregon, at the Nike Headquarters, competing against some of the world’s best junior talent across six days.
A member of the Melbourne Victory A-League academy, Pantazopoulos said late last year of her ambition to break into the A-League side in the coming years and play professionally in England.
