CommBank Matildas vice-captain Steph Catley said that the mood around the camp was very positive after the team’s 2-1 victory over Wales earlier this week.
She was speaking to the media ahead of the second game of the international window against England on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
“The mood is really good,” she revealed.
“It's been a while since I've been in camp as an individual, so it's been nice to settle in and start working with Pep [Montemurro].
“We had a good hit out against Wales, and got the win, which is always nice. But I think the foundations of the football we're trying to play and the style we're trying to play is the most important thing right now, leading into the Asian Cup, and England's going to be a massive test for us. So we're all very excited.”
The last time that the team came up against England was the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ semi-final, which ended in a loss for Australia.
Catley said that, while it is a different group taking the park over two years later, the disappointment of that day still lingers.
“We're in a completely different stage now with our team - different coach, different players, different tournament,” she said.
“But you can't help but remember past games when you come up against the same opposition, and that was probably one of the most heartbreaking games I've played in my career. So there's definitely wounds there, and you do remember those moments.
“But like I said, it's a fresh new project and a new challenge for us. They're a new-looking team as well. We’ll be looking to go after them and try and get a win, but it’s obviously a completely different occasion.”
The two teams are very familiar with each other. At Arsenal, Catley trains with the likes of Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead every day.
She said that it helps with the team’s preparation for the game – but concedes that England will have the same advantage.
“I think it helps. It also gives them the same sort of upper hand, because they know us really, really well,” she explained.
“In that sense, you kind of play mind games. You think you know what they're going to do, but they might change it up – because you know they're going to do that. It does become a little bit tricky.
“But there's always an advantage in knowing the players that you're going to play against. Normally, you would do an opposition report, and you would study how they move and how they play, but training with them every single day or playing against them regularly does help with that.”
She said that the main aim of the window, and the game against England, was to look inwards and continue to build their identity on the pitch.
“The main thing for us is trying to build an identity again in the way that we play,” she said.
“We’ve got players that are playing in some of the best leagues and some of the best teams around the world and in Europe. We’re capable of playing some really, really great football.
“[Head Coach] Joe [Montemurro] really believes in those sort of foundations, and the style of possession-based football. The way that we're training and the way we're trying to implement keeping the ball and taking care of it with the details of the pass, the first touch and things like that - he's really, really big on.
“Having those ideas and bringing them into every game is important for us, and something we're really focusing on, and I think you can already see there’s a change in that in terms of the way that we’re trying to possess [the ball].”
Catley praised the depth of the team on multiple occasions and explained that the players around her mean that she can be deployed at either centre-back, where she has been playing for Arsenal, or left-back for the national team.
It also means that the team can explore multiple avenues to the goal going forward, to get the best out of every player on the pitch.
“When going into a tournament, you need to have multiple ways of attacking, multiple ways of keeping the ball,” she expressed.
“If you're one-dimensional, then you become very easy to play against. Modern football is at a completely different level now to where it used to be, and teams are so much better defensively in all facets of the game.
“So, having multiple avenues to goal, having multiple ways to score is vital. We have so many talented players in our team and so many different ways of threatening teams that we need to explore and be very, very good at using all of those avenues.”
COMMBANK MATILDAS | MATCH DETAILS
England v CommBank Matildas
Date: Tuesday, 28 October 2025 / Wednesday, 29 October 2025
Kick-off: 7:00pm BST (Local) / 6:00am AEDT
Venue: Pride Park Stadium, Derby, England
Broadcast: Paramount+
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