New Matildas coach Ante Milicic has handed the captain’s armband to star striker Sam Kerr as the team prepare for their first outing in the post-Alen Stajcic era on Thursday in Sydney.

Kerr will lead the team at the upcoming Cup of Nations tournament, starting with a match against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand at Leichhardt Oval, and the World Cup later this year. Steph Catley was named vice-captain.

Kerr, whose scintillating recent form has brought worldwide acclaim, was full of praise for Milicic after having got to know the coach and his methods during a series of training sessions in Brisbane.

“He’s been amazing,” the 25-year-old said. “When you come in and meet a new coach it’s nerve-wracking. He’s really intense. Everything is calculated and the girls really like that.”

Kerr, who takes over from former co-captains Clare Polkinghorne and Lisa De Vanna, said she has not addressed the team about the fallout from Stajcic’s controversial sacking last month, which had the potential to disrupt preparations for the team’s World Cup tilt, and insisted their focus remains on the tournament in France.

“We haven’t spoken [about the saga], we’ve just moved on. We’ve just been focused and looking forward to training. It will be nice to get back on the field and talk about the football again. The girls are just ready to play.

“I’m just going to lead by my actions. I’m not going to start making speeches when I haven’t made speeches before.”

The rise of Kerr’s star is showing no signs of slowing down after a stellar year in which she broke numerous scoring records – both in the NWSL and W-League – was nominated for the Ballon d’Or and picked up a host of other individual awards.

She will spearhead Australia’s World Cup campaign widely recognised as one of the best strikers on the planet, but Milicic has also been taken with her leadership qualities.

“Sam and Steph have impressed me greatly,” Milicic said. “We had four great training sessions and several team and individual meetings while we were in Brisbane, and to me their qualities as leaders of this group stood out.

“With any honour comes responsibility, however I trust that Sam and Steph as well as the other leaders in our squad are ready to grasp the opportunity to push this team to a new level.”

Australia kick off their Cup of Nations campaign against New Zealand on Thursday before meeting South Korea and Argentina in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively over the course of the next week.

The Matildas have been drawn in World Cup Group C along with Italy, Brazil and Jamaica. Their opener is against Italy on 9 June.