‘They know what they need to do': Montemurro out to take care of unfinished business
Montemurro was consequently spared the only goal of that 2022 Women's Asian Cup quarter-final – scored by the prolific Ji So-yun in the 87th minute – that knocked Australia out of the tournament and kicked off a post-mortem which basically called for the head of Tony Gustavsson.
The team had travelled to India with a full-strength squad and publicly stated ambitions to win the thing, and left facing questions about whether they would have qualified directly for the 2023 World Cup had they not already secured a spot as co-hosts.
The funny thing is that Montemurro was only in front of a TV in Italy and not pitchside in India because he was managing Juventus Women, having only taken that job because Gustavsson had beaten him to the Matildas one.
Now he does have the Matildas job, and the Asian Cup is approaching once more. The 2026 edition, to be staged on home soil, is close enough now that the draw has just been done and we can all analyse what it means in 50 different ways.
Australia are in the group of death, which is bad. But the Matildas often do well with their backs against the wall, which could be good.
The pressure to win a long-coveted major trophy is a lot to deal with under the glare of a home campaign. But the home support can push them to achieve great things.
On paper, they should stroll past the Philippines and Iran. Except that odds on paper rarely mean much when it comes to the Matildas. And they have already beaten South Korea twice this year. If only they weren't friendlies and counted for little.
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