CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro said that there would be no favourites in the final as the team prepares to take on World No.8 Japan in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ decider.
He was speaking at the pre-match press conference alongside Ellie Carpenter.
“There's no favourites in the final,” he said.
“It's the best team and the one who wants it more, and the one who is smart enough to manage the moments. If we manage the moments, we’ll do well in the game tomorrow.”
He explained the way the team would approach the big game.
“Setting the tone is going to be very important,” he said.
“In any final, for any sport, if you set that tone at the start, then you can settle and manage the pressure and manage the moments better. The first 10 or 15 minutes, that’s the way we approach it.
“First of all, we have to control our emotions and focus on the moment, focus on the situation, focus on the collective, and focus on what we've worked on that we believe in. The first 15 minutes are going to be crucial. If we can manage that pressure and those emotions… then we go from there.”
While Japan are a strong team, Montemurro believes that they have enough weaknesses for the CommBank Matildas to exploit.
“We've got some ideas that we think could be important,” he said.
“As great a team as they are, they do have a couple of weaknesses. I'm not going to divulge those. We think if we find some continuity and some rhythm with the ball, we could do some good things in the game.
“But let's not take away from a team that has many, many solutions under different circumstances. You know, they're a very good team, and we just have to make sure that we're prepared in all phases, defending and attacking.”
Ellie Carpenter spoke about what a special occasion this was for the team.
“Having this tournament at home, I said before the semi-final, this will probably be the last semi-final we will play on home soil in a major tournament, so we need to give it our all,” she recalled.
“The first half for us in that game [semi-final v China PR] wasn't good enough. China were better than us in most areas, and it was about who wanted it more. We had words with each other at half time and we said - 'Come on, we're at home. We need to win these first and second balls.'
“That leads into the final tomorrow. When can I say that I'll have another final in Australia in a major tournament? Never, probably. So this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us and for most of the girls’ careers. It's about who wants it more tomorrow.
“We’re at home, and we need to bring our aggressiveness, our physical game and our speed into this game tomorrow. We know Japan probably won't like that. They haven't been tested like that before in this tournament, and we know our strengths, and we have to play to our strengths tomorrow.”
The core of the team has been together for over a decade, but have never won a major trophy. Carpenter does not shy away from what it would mean to do so on home soil.
“It’s been 16 years since we've lifted that trophy,” she said.
“I've been in this team for 10 years and haven't lifted a [major tournament] trophy with the team yet. So, tomorrow is an amazing opportunity for us to hopefully do that. It would be a cherry on top for most of the girls – it could be their last tournament.”
Carpenter said the team would thrive in front of an expected sold-out crowd at Stadium Australia.
“I get goosebumps walking out there, because it's such an amazing stadium,” she said.
“I heard it's going to be a sellout, and just walking out singing that anthem before the game, it makes me a little bit emotional, because of the amount of people that come out to support us. We want to put on a show for them. We don't want to leave them disappointed tomorrow.
“Also, for us as footballers, we want to inspire the next generation. We did that, I think, at the World Cup, and this is another opportunity for us tomorrow.
“We love the big pressure moments, and we felt that at the World Cup, we grew into that tournament. We think we’ve grown into this tournament as well. We'll be ready for the occasion tomorrow.”
AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ Final
Japan v CommBank Matildas
Date: Saturday, 21 March 2026
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Time: 8:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Radio: ABC Sport & ABC Listen
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