Sofia Sakalis

Sofia Sakalis (born 11 July 2002) is an Australian soccer player currently playing for Melbourne City in the W-League. She has represented Australia on the under-17 national team. Sakalis plays in the attacking midfielder position.

Sofia Sakalis
Personal information
Full name Sofia Sakalis
Date of birth (2002-07-11) 11 July 2002
Place of birth Australia
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Melbourne City
Number 16
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– Melbourne City 1 (0)
National team‡
2016– Australia U-17 8 (12)
2018– Australia U-20 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 31 October 2018

Early life

Sakalis, who is of Greek-Australian background, showed interest in soccer at the age of three and began playing two years later.[1][2] When she first started playing, coaches assigned her to teams with boys her age but advanced her to play with older boys.[1] At age 13, her performance at the National Championships earned her call-ups to three training camps with the Junior Matildas, Australia's under-17 national team.[1]

Playing career

Club

Melbourne City, 2017–present

After training with Melbourne City FC in 2015–16, Sakalis signed with the team for the 2017–18 season at the age of 15.[3] She made her debut for the club during the team's 5–2 win over the Newcastle Jets on 12 November.[4][5]

International

Sakalis competed with the Junior Matildas[6][7] at the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification tournament in Vietnam where they finished first in Group D with an undefeated 5–0–0 record.[8] During the team's first group match against Palestine, Sakalis scored five goals.[9] She scored a total of 11 goals in 5 games[10] and was the top scorer at the qualifying tournament helping Australia secure a place at the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship in Thailand.[8][11]

Honours

Sakalis was named 2016 Sport Stars of the Year with Olympic boxer Jason Whateley by the Whitehorse Leader.[12]

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References
  1. Komarkowski, Antonia (21 June 2017). "Sofia Sakalis 15-year-old Soccer star". Greek City Times. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  2. "City sign trio for Westfield W-League season". W-League. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  3. "Complete preview for each W-League team for season 2017/18". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  4. "S. Sakalis". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  5. "A day to remember for Sakalis and Muldeary". Melbourne City FC. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  6. Stogiannou, George (5 August 2016). "Sakalis selected for Junior Matildas in AFC qualifying tournament in Vietnam". Neos Kosmos. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  7. "Juric names squad for AFC U-16 qualifiers". Westfield Matildas. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  8. "Junior Matildas complete qualifiers with perfect record". The Women's Game. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  9. "Junior Matildas' easy win in Vietnam". Westfield Matildas. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  10. Turner, David (25 September 2016). "Vermont South's Sofia Sakalis is a rising soccer star with the world at her feet". Whitehorse Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  11. "World champions Korea DPR target Asian treble". FIFA. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  12. Naughtin, Paddy (22 November 2016). "Soccer star Sofia Sakalis and Olympic boxer Jason Whateley named 2016 Whitehorse Leader Sport Stars". Whitehorse Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
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