Sofia Sakalis


Sofia Sakalis 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.

Early life

Sakalis, who is of Greek-Australian background, showed interest in soccer at the age of three and began playing two years later. When she first started playing, coaches assigned her to teams with boys her age but advanced her to play with older boys. 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.

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. She made her debut for the club during the team's 5–2 win over the Newcastle Jets on 12 November.

International

Sakalis competed with the Junior Matildas at the 2017 AFC U-16 Women's Championship qualification tournament in Vietnam where they finished first in Group D with an undefeated record. During the team's first group match against Palestine, Sakalis scored five goals. She scored a total of 11 goals in 5 games 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.

Honours

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