A-League Women: Young Canberra United squad lean on international stars like Vesna Milivojevic to lead

"I've already felt that from day one at training that that's expected of me, and I expect that of myself to be a leader too," Milivojevic told The Canberra Times.

United will have a very young squad when they kick-off their season against Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday.

In the off-season Canberra saw seasoned players Grace Maher, Laura Hughes, Kennedy Faulknor and Grace Jale depart the club, with veteran Ellie Brush also retiring.

United have been able to recruit experienced players like American defender Cannon Clough, New Zealand international Deven Jackson and Chilean veteran Maria Rojas, and they still have quality in former Matildas striker Michelle Heyman.

But coach Njegosh Popovich said he will rely on certain players like Serbian midfielder Milivojevic to step up in a big way to help guide the younger group this season.

Fresh off international duty in the inaugural UEFA Women's Nations League - which is also a qualifier for the 2025 Women's Euros - Milivojevic said she's come back to Canberra in better form than ever, and is ready to lead from the front.

"When you just play domestically you don't see the bigger picture with international football. It's a different level - it's faster and it's against stronger players, so it pushes you to be better," she said.

"Then when you come back to this environment, because we have a really young squad you can help them with your experience, and they look up to you a bit."

MORE NEWS:

Milivojevic's Serbian side beat Ukraine 2-1 and Greece 4-0, and she almost got on the scoresheet herself in the matches.

She's wanting to take that momentum into the A-League Women, where the highly-anticipated, 22-game season will make this the longest year yet.

First though, a "physical" test against Adelaide awaits, and Canberra remain confident that age won't hurt their championship-winning chances.

"We want to make finals football, and so each individual has to be up to the task," Milivojevic said.

"Adelaide are physical and play direct football, so we have to match that - we can't be scared. We have to show up," she added.

The A-Leagues had their official season launch on Tuesday in Sydney with attendance records for games set to be broken following the success of the Women's World Cup.

"I don't think there was any TV that wasn't turned towards the Women's World Cup," United defender Sasha Grove said.

"So many people that I know that had never watched football were getting behind it, and that's the beauty of the game, and the flow-on effects are just massive."

Sunday: Adelaide United v Canberra United, Hindmarsh Stadium, 3pm.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: