Latest news with #WomensAsianCup
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
New Matildas coach Joe Montemurro opens up about the Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler questions every fan wants answered
Joe Montemurro is confident Mary Fowler will be fit and firing for next year's Women's Asian Cup as the new Matildas boss said he won't make a decision on Sam Kerr 's future as captain until she returns to play. Montemurro, who was unveiled as Australia coach in Sydney on Monday on a three-year deal, declared that under his watch the Matildas would be a team that attacks and takes risks regardless of who they face. But Australia's fortunes in the final third will hinge on the fitness of Kerr and Fowler, both of whom have been sidelined with anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the time since the 2023 World Cup. Kerr has not played for Australia in close to two years after suffering a knee injury in December 2024. The Chelsea striker, 31, has returned to training over recent months but has yet to play a game. 'My intention is to sit down with all the players, even the extended squad, and map out a process of what's required to play the brand of football that we want to play from a physical and a mental perspective,' Montemurro said. 'You can get fit, you can get right tactically but then some players go through processes where (they ask) are they mentally prepared for a big tournament? 'Sam fits into that scenario where we're just going to monitor and see where she's at. 'Let's get her fit then we'll have those discussions (over the captaincy).' Fowler, meanwhile, suffered her rupture in April, leaving the 22-year-old Manchester City attacker facing a race against the clock to get fit for a home Asian Cup in March next year. 'Mary's a special player and I can tell you from a club perspective, she's in the eye of a lot of the big clubs,' Montemurro said. 'It's unfortunate for her, it happens, but she's in probably the best environment with the City Group. 'From a physical and from a training load (perspective) and from a return to play scenario, she'll be right and hopefully she'll be right for the Asian Cup.'
Reuters
a day ago
- General
- Reuters
Serial winner Montemurro confirmed as new coach of Australia's Matildas
SYDNEY, June 2 (Reuters) - Joe Montemurro was confirmed as the new coach of the Australian women's national team on Monday and handed the task of leading the Matildas to the Women's Asian Cup title on home soil next year. The 55-year-old Australian moves from Lyon Women to replace Tom Sermanni, who has held the role on a caretaker basis since Tony Gustavsson departed in the wake of last year's disappointing Olympic campaign in Paris. The Matildas have established themselves as one of Australia's most popular sports teams but despite runs to the latter stages of the Olympic Games in 2021 and the Women's World Cup on home soil two years later, silverware has been sparse. Serial winner Montemurro, who said the appointment was the "honour of a lifetime", will be expected to change all that. "To be given the opportunity to lead one of the best brands in the world, one of the most exciting teams in the world, and to do it at home, it's something quite emotional," he told reporters in Sydney. "It's all set up for me to take over and bring it to the next level. Is the Asian Cup winnable? Of course it is ... I want to win, I want to win playing a great brand of football." After a modest playing career, Montemurro started his coaching career at state level in Victoria before taking over Melbourne Victory's women's team in 2014. He quickly established a reputation for playing attractive football and moved across his hometown the following season to join Melbourne City, where his team won two W-League titles. In November 2017, he moved to England to take over as Arsenal head coach and within six months had steered the club to victory in the FA Women's League Cup. The Women's Super League title was to follow in 2019 before a switch to Juventus women, where he won the Serie A and Coppa Italia double in 2021 during a successful three-year spell. He was hired by Lyon Women to replace UEFA Women's Champions League-winning coach Sonia Bompastor following her departure for Chelsea in June 2014. Montemurro has long been Football Australia's prime candidate for the Matildas post and he was freed to take up the job when Lyon released him from his contract on Sunday. With a squad featuring Arsenal's UEFA Women's Champions League-winning trio Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord along with Chelsea striker Sam Kerr, expectations on Montemurro to deliver long-overdue success will be high. "We are at an exciting moment for the Matildas with the Women's Asian Cup nine months away," said Football Australia interim Chief Executive Heather Garriock. "We expect this team to be focused, driven and ready to show the world what we believe they're capable of."
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Arsenal success can spur Australia to continental title, says Catley
May 31 (Reuters) - Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women's Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women's Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon last Sunday, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas' 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continent championship in March 2026, when they will attempt to win the Asian title for the first time in 16 years. "I think it just gives you a little taste of what's possible," Catley said of the Champions League success. "But to actually do it, it makes me think about my career and the things I really want to achieve, and winning silverware with the Matildas has always been top of my list. "So, definitely, it makes me hungry. I've got a taste of trophies and (winning the Asian Cup) would mean a lot to me if we were able to do that. "It's coming up now, it's very close so it's good for the three of us to have the taste of that and be able to lead that hunt for success for our team." The Australians last won the Women's Asian Cup in 2010 with a victory over North Korea and have since finished as runners-up in 2014 and 2018 before exiting the 2022 edition in the quarter-finals. And while the Matildas reached the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup on home soil in 2023, they were eliminated in the group phase of the Olympic Games last year, prompting coach Tony Gustavsson's departure. The Swede has not been replaced on a permanent basis, with Tom Sermanni filling the role in an interim capacity, but Catley is confident the team is moving in the right direction as the Australians continue to unearth new playing talent. "Maybe it hasn't been the most successful few years but we still believe we can achieve something special," said Catley. "You see a player like Charli (Grant) come in tonight and she looks like she's been in the team for a few years, and we're still finding gems like that. "I think coming into a major tournament, that's the most important thing that you can try to do, is have a bit of depth there and some competition."
ABC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Matildas' Women's Asian Cup title win in 2010 inspires new documentary
Kyah Simon and Melissa Barbieri will never forget the moment they made Australian football history. Now, they can't wait for everyone new to the Matildas to learn about it too. Football Australia is releasing a documentary on Friday to commemorate 15 years to the day since the breakthrough 2010 Women's Asian Cup triumph in China. The Matildas beat powerhouse Japan 1-0 in the semifinal, qualifying for the women's World Cup, before facing North Korea in the decider. Just 19 minutes in, a 16-year-old Sam Kerr scored the opener in Chengdu. North Korea responded through Jo Yun-mi in the 73rd minute and the game dragged through additional time, then into penalties. Barbieri, watched Yun Song-mi put North Korea's second penalty wide of her left goal post, and her teammates keep sinking spot-kicks. Simon, who scored the decisive fifth penalty, remembers the monsoon-like conditions and a pitch that resembled a cow paddock. "Walking out, my boots each felt a kilo or two heavier just by the amount of water that was soaked up in my socks," Simon told AAP. "I remember standing on halfway with the other girls and keeping my focus on my penalty. "I just stuck to my guns and kept my focus as I walked up to the spot. It felt like the longest walk in history. "But when I finally got there, went through my processes, and was really pleased that I could hit it as sweet as I did. "Just that pure elation and joy, when seeing the ball ripple in the back of the net, and all the water spray off it, and just turning around and seeing all the girls run towards me was just an amazing feeling. "I don't think I realised probably the enormity of us winning it, which probably worked in my favour." Barbieri remembers two cameras flashing at the team's arrival back in Australia, then having to ring news organisations herself to get more coverage. "I thought it was a lot of media, being 18," Simon says with a laugh. "Whereas, if you asked me about now, if we won the Asian Cup, and there was that response, I'd be thinking: 'That's appalling.'" Kerr, Tameka Yallop, Simon, Barbieri and Aivi Luik are the only active players left from that squad ahead of next March's Asian Cup on home soil. "Re-living the 15-year anniversary this year, in the preparation for the tournament next year, it builds a lot of hype," Simon said. "It also touches on the history of the tournament, what we have done previously. "Hopefully we can do that again next year here on home soil, with obviously a much bigger reception than we had in that final in front of 1,200 people in the crowd in China 15 years ago." But first, Barbieri and Simon and their teammates of 2010 will take a moment to reflect. "Us as players have never seen ourselves on a screen, and that is really, really important for us to relive and to remember," Barbieri said. "Because everything about a footballer is about, 'What's next, what do I need to do? What's my goal?' "And very rarely do we get a chance to look back and say, 'Hey, we did some pretty special stuff.'" Follow all the action in tonight's international between the Matildas and Argentina at Docklands in ABC's live blog. AAP
