Matildas to take on New Zealand and Korea DPR

Australia's Matildas will play matches against New Zealand and Korea DPR as part of an international tri-series to be held in Auckland, New Zealand next month.

The Matildas will play in an international tri-series in Auckland (AAP)

The Matildas' participation in the tri-series against the 18th-ranked Football Ferns and Korea DPR, which currently occupies seventh in the world rankings, comes as the squad builds towards the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, which kicks off in June.

In addition to the tri-series, the Matildas have confirmed they will once again compete at the Cyprus Cup, where they have been drawn in Group A along with England, Finland and Netherlands, which will be held in Cyprus from 2-15 March.

The matches against Korea DPR on 10 February and Football Ferns on 12 February will be the Matildas' first since the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2014 final against Japan back in May last year, and also the first internationals since Alen Stajcic was announced as full-time coach.

"We had a really good training camp in Canberra last week and this tri-series will give us an opportunity to put into practise things that we have worked on and the way we want to play at the World Cup," Stajcic said.

"We haven't been together for eight months so our expectations heading to New Zealand are realistic. We want to try and build on the foundations we've set in the camps but we know it's going to be a huge challenge coming up against DPR Korea, who are one of the best teams in the world, in our first game.

"To get two matches against quality opposition will give us an indication of how we're progressing, while they will also be beneficial leading up to the Cyprus Cup in March against some excellent European countries.

"There is still a lot of hard work to be done before we get to Canada so we have to make the most of every opportunity we have to test ourselves and improve."

With all arrows pointing to Canada in June, Stajcic and the Matildas’ preparations began with a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra last week.

The Matildas will renew their trans-Tasman rivalry with the Football Ferns after they last met back in June 2013 where Australia recorded a 1-0 win and 1-1 draw, while the Matildas’ last encounter against Korea DPR was a 1-0 loss back in 2011 in an Olympic qualifier.

Ahead of next month’s tri-series in Auckland, a 31-player squad has congregated at AIS headquarters in Canberra for a training camp that runs until Friday 23 January.

Of the players invited to the camp by Stajcic, 19 of them were part of the squad that competed in last year's AFC Women's Asian Cup in Vietnam.

Matildas training camp squad: Aivi Luik, Alanna Kennedy, Alex Chidiac, Amy Harrison, Ashleigh Sykes, Brianna Davey (gk), Caitlin Foord, Casey Dumont (gk), Clare Polkinghorne, Danielle Brogan, Elise Kellond-Knight, Ellie Brush, Emily van Egmond, Emma Checker, Hayley Crawford, Hayley Raso, Kate Gill, Katrina Gorry, Kim Carroll, Kyah Simon, Larissa Crummer, Lisa De Vanna, Marianna Tabain, Melissa Barbieri (gk), Michelle Heyman, Nicola Bolger, Nicole Begg, Servet Uzunlar, Stephanie Catley, Teigen Allen, Teresa Polias

Women’s International Tri-Series:

New Zealand v Korea DPR

Sunday 8 February (Kick-Off 7.30pm local)

Korea DPR v Matildas

Tuesday 10 February (Kick-Off 3.30pm local)

New Zealand v Matildas

Thursday 12 February (Kick-Off 7pm local)

All fixtures at Bill McKinlay Park, Auckland