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News.com.au
07-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Matildas coach Joe Montemurro set to make more changes to Australia's team for return clash with Panama
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Teagan Micah won't be risked in the Matildas' clash in Perth on Tuesday night against a Panama side hoping to secure back-to-back wins over an experimental Australian outfit. Despite sitting 41 places lower than Australia in the world rankings, Panama beat a Matildas team missing a host of stars – including Steph Catley, Alanna Kennedy, Caitlin Foord, Ellie Carpenter, Clare Hunt, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Charlotte Grant and injured pair Mary Fowler and Sam Kerr – 1-0 in Bunbury on Saturday. More young talent is set to get an opportunity in game two of the series at HBF Park, with Alex Chidiac, Kaitlyn Torpey and Emily Gielnik having since departed camp, and free agent Micah, who was forced off in the defeat after a crunching second-half blow left her dazed, ruled out. 'We're not going to take any risks,' Matildas coach Joe Montemurro said. 'She (Micah) will be fine. It's just a little bit of whiplash, (but) we just don't want to take any risks. There's no need to.' Montemurro is happy to further experiment with players and combinations in just his fourth game in charge as he bids to build Australia's depth ahead of next year's AFC Women's Asian Cup. 'It's been great to be able to do it at this level because we can gauge exactly where we're at,' he said. 'I haven't really looked at (Saturday's result) as a loss. I've looked at it as more information for us to go forward. 'We're trying to lift the way, lift the style, lift the football, and we want to do it without negative results, but it's probably one where … when you make a lot of changes there's going to be a little bit of instability, but I still have belief in the process and still have belief in the way going forward. 'We've got a bank of information that will help us go forward.' Montemurro suggested the learning experience that the next generation of Matildas were being exposed to was priceless. 'It's like everything – you don't lose, you learn,' he said. 'You learn from these situations. It's a perfect opportunity to learn, because it's not a do-or-die game. It's not a game that we are going to lose points on, or lose our status in a competition situation. 'It's a game where it was always prescribed that we were going to make a lot of changes. 'The good thing about it is players, individually, who were given an opportunity, can look at themselves and learn and understand. 'We focused on the take-outs of (Saturday's) game because there were some good passages. 'It just wasn't continuous enough, and it probably wasn't, at times, football-intelligent enough. 'Understanding international football, understanding when a team does break up the game and tries to stop rhythms and so on … we have to be better mentally and even as a coaching staff, we have to be prepared for these opportunities. 'For me, the perfect way of learning these levels of international football is through an experience we had the other day.'
News.com.au
27-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Sam Kerr causes stir as Matildas play ‘perfect game'
Sam Kerr would have liked what she saw just as mush as new Matildas coach Joe Montemurro as the Tillies played a 'perfect game' in a 3-0 win over Slovenia in Perth on Thursday. Montemurro took charge of the Matildas for the first time since being announced as coach on June 2. He had only three training sessions with the squad before Thursday night's friendly. Key players including Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler are missing due to ACL injuries. Clare Wheeler, Cortnee Vine, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Katrina Gorry are all absent on personal leave. Kerr caused quite a stir on the sideline at HBF Park on Thursday night as she made a rare on-field appearance with her Aussie teammates. Montemurro said earlier this week injured Kerr has brought 'fantastic' energy to this week's training camp, with the new boss spending as much time in recent days 'meeting players' in his squad. Kerr's return after more than 18 months on the sidelines with a knee injury will be one of Montemurro's biggest challenges heading into the AFC Women's Asian Cup, which is being held on home soil, beginning March 1, 2026. If the sight of fans flocking to see Kerr in Perth on Thursday, he will be under plenty of pressure to get the Chelsea forward back into the starting side when she is available for selection. Kerr was given permission by her English club to continue her rehabilitation in Australia. There remains no set return playing date for Kerr, who Montemurro said was a welcome addition to the group, assembled in her home state, as she continued to build her 'physical capacity'. 'It's fundamentally a situation where she's now building her physical capacity, and we'll monitor that through,' Montemurro said on Wednesday. 'The important thing is, we're working with Chelsea to make sure she's right for pre-season and she gets some games under her belt. 'It is an individual sort of process, but it's great to have her around the group, and her energy is fantastic.' Vice-captain Ellie Carpenter, returning to national duties after personal leave, during which time she was married, said having Kerr around, even keeping a low profile, was a boost, given she had been absent from the field for so long. 'She's a massive player, also a massive character for the team,' Carpenter said. 'She's been absent from the team for a while, so it's nice to have her training individually, and hopefully, soon she can be back with us.' Thursday night's win suggested the Matildas will be fine without her. Montemurro said the win over Slovenia was exactly what the team needed. 'We have to put ourselves in positions, especially against the team that played player on player, to be comfortable receiving the ball under pressure,' he said. 'And we made, I think, three or four big errors in that. 'But I'm not concerned, because it's the process going forward. 'For me, it was the perfect game. It was the perfect game; a team that's pressured all over the pitch, and we have to be comfortable under that pressure. 'We have to learn to be that. 'So, for me it was an important exercise tonight.' The Matildas had the first goal scored after just three minutes. None of the Slovenian players had registered a pass at that time. Australia then had to wait 83 minutes for the next goal though, which was quickly followed by a third. Substitute Hayley Raso was among the action for the last two goals, passing one to Holly McNamara for her first international goal. She kicked the last one herself. The two sides meet again in the second and final friendly at Perth's HBF Park on Sunday.
South China Morning Post
24-06-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
As women's footballers juggle jobs, does Hong Kong need professional league?
Hong Kong face an extra obstacle as they aim to defy the odds on the field and reach next year's AFC Women's Asian Cup finals: most of the players have regular jobs. Ranked 80th in the world, the city's team are braced for a tough qualifying task, with only the winners of a group featuring Saudi Arabia, the Philippines and Cambodia set to make it to the 12-team tournament in Australia. Coach Ricardo Rambo leads his side away to world No 118s Cambodia on Sunday, before meeting the fast-improving Saudis, ranked 165th, on Wednesday next week. Then the real test will come against the 41st-ranked Philippines a week on Saturday. But if that were not challenging enough, as boss of a part-time squad, Rambo has faced issues of player fatigue and, previously, withdrawals because of work commitments. The team's weekday training sessions in Hong Kong typically take place from 8 to 10pm. Hong Kong's players work on their strength and conditioning last Sunday. Photo: Sun Yeung 'We have to challenge them, but there needs to be a balance,' Rambo said. 'They've been working and are tired – it's no good shouting. We need to understand the players and take an individual approach.
Independent Singapore
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
Lionesses captain calls Hong Kong clash a ‘balanced fight' despite early stoppage and 1–0 deficit
Singapore's last home match before the start of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup was halted due to heavy rains. Despite the unfortunate cancellation, Singapore's national team, the Lionesses, showed their determination as they fought against Hong Kong, which is ranked 59 places higher. The Singaporean team had a great start at the friendly match, which was held at Choa Chu Kang Stadium. It was, however, called off four minutes into the second half with Hong Kong leading 1-0 at that point. Highlights of the match Winger Farah Nurzahirah made two early chances, but the play was stopped after 17 minutes due to a lightning warning, causing a one-hour delay. When the match resumed, Hong Kong increased their game, but 18-year-old goalkeeper Izairida Shakira made several key saves. A defensive mistake gave Hong Kong's Leung Hong Liu Anke an opportunity to score. Hong Kong nearly scored again before halftime. The second half saw the return of veteran midfielder Lim Li Xian, adding more experience to the match. Singapore kept pressing, but the worsening weather led to the match being cancelled. With this, Lionesses' Head Coach, Karim Bencherifa, remained optimistic and shared encouraging aspects from the game. 'I think the players worked really hard under difficult conditions. We were looking to continue, but it's still a positive outcome. A lot of work remains, but game after game, we're progressing,' he said. 'Kudos to Hong Kong – gave us two good games. Even though today's game didn't finish, I was very happy with what I saw,' he added. Furthermore, the Lionesses' team captain, Rosnani Azman, reflected on the team's performance and shared her thoughts. In a video shared on social media, she said, 'I think we did quite well… I mean, of course, playing against Hong Kong, who's like 80th ranking – it was a strong opponent.' The athlete added, 'I actually believe that it was a balanced fight. You can see that both teams are attacking, and we also create chances. It's just that we couldn't convert it into a goal… But I think it was a good fight, leading to the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.' Some netizens disagreed with the post, questioning the fairness of the match. One remarked bluntly, 'A loss is not balanced.' The Lionesses are now preparing for the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers. They will leave and go to Amman, the capital of Jordan, which will host all the Group A matches.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Matildas coach happy with emerging talent
New Matildas coach Joe Montemurro is encouraged by the 'generational change' that's occurring in the national women's squad ahead of next year's AFC Women's Asian Cup. Montemurro's Matildas' tenure officially started on Monday after his appointment as coach was announced earlier this month during Australia's two game-series against Argentina. The matches were the final games on Tom Sermanni's interim coaching stint, with an Australian squad minus a host of its star players – including Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Katrina Gorry, Ellie Carpenter and Hayley Raso – winning 2-0 and 4-1 in Melbourne and Canberra respectively. A host of fringe players – including Kahli Johnson, Amy Sayer, Jamilla Rankin, Leah Davidson and Bryleeh Henry – were given chances to prove themselves, with Montemurro happy with what he saw. 'The reality is there is a generational change,' the former coach of the female teams at Arsenal, Juventus and Lyon said. 'What we saw over the last few games is that there is an exciting group coming through. 'Part of my role is to make sure we have a level of sustainability through all the age groups. 'We have the opportunity to give players the opportunity to be part of the Matildas and give them every chance to ply their trade at the right level and at the highest level … (but) we need to find balance. It's not something we can do overnight.' A blend of experience and youth is expected in Montemurro's maiden Matildas squad for the upcoming games in Western Australia against Slovenia (June 26 and June 29), and Panama (July 5 and July 8). Montemurro promised a Matildas 'environment' that was 'safe, humble and honest'. 'That's the best starting point,' he said. 'It's a collective humility, it's a collective honesty and it's a collective selflessness.' However, any hopes that teenage midfielder Indiana Dos Santos had of being part of Montemurro's first squad have been dashed after the Sydney FC star ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her keen during a Future Matildas program last week. Dos Santos, 17, was awarded the A-League women's young footballer of the year prize. 'I believe in God's plan, even when I don't understand it,' Dos Santos wrote in a social media post. 'This journey won't be easy, but with the love and support I have around me I can accomplish anything.'
