CommBank Matildas defender said that while the result against Mexico was “disappointing,” it is just the beginning of a new journey towards the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™.
She was speaking after the team’s 1-0 defeat in Newcastle on Saturday evening.
“It's disappointing, but there's also a realisation that we are at the very start of a journey towards the World Cup – although it’s obviously not how we’d like to start,” she said.
“We started the game really well. The first 20 minutes are exactly how we set out to play. We’d hoped to put that kind of performance together for 90 minutes, but it wasn't to be. Mexico changed the way they were pressing and the way that they were playing, and they did that really, really well, and we didn't adapt quickly enough or well enough.”
Catley diagnosed the main issues that the team will look to improve on from the game.
“Our main challenge came from our mistakes and the fact that we weren't clinical and we didn't bring enough quality in the final third,” she explained.
“We turned over the ball in bad areas when we were trying to play forward passes in our own third. In controlled situations, we turned it over, and then the gaps became really big, the midfield became stretched, and it was hard to stop the game from turning into a transition game and a physical game.
“They are definitely things that we can improve upon ourselves and things we can look at for the next game.”
She echoed the thoughts of Head Coach Joe Montemurro when talking about converting chances in the final third.
“Sometimes I think we're rushing a bit when there's probably time to put your foot on it, come out, and try the other side,” she said.
“In the moment, it feels that way, and then you go back, and you watch what we're trying to do, and it looks a little bit more obvious. We’re going to have to go back and watch and see what better options there were. It’s just about being calm, giving better angles, and more unselfish runs in the box to create space for shots.”
The centre-back reflected on the performance of the back line as a whole, and that there were positives and negatives to take from it.
“We did cause our own issues playing out from the back at times. We had a couple of different solutions that we didn't find quickly enough, and we maybe put our teammates under a bit of stress when we didn't need to,” she said.
“But all of this is just learning opportunities. You speak to each other on the pitch, and you figure it out, and you try and figure out better ways to approach it, and I think we did that. We came up with better solutions as the game went on. It's just about doing that a little bit quicker and eliminating those big chances. The learnings are quite clear. So, hopefully we can get on top of those and turn it around nice and quick.”
Finally, she had words for long-time teammate Ellie Carpenter, who reached the milestone of 100 appearances for the national team on Saturday.
“It's a massive achievement, and for someone to do it at such a young age, I think, speaks volumes about her,” she said.
“As soon as she came into the team, I knew she was here to stay. I feel so lucky to go on the field with her every single day and fight with her and a player like her, because she gives 100% every time she steps out onto the pitch. Watching her journey makes me so, so proud of not only the player she is, but the person she is as well.
“She's incredibly gracious, and she loves her teammates, and she loves playing for a country, and I think you can see that in everything that she does. A hundred caps is a massive achievement, and she should be so proud, because we're all very proud of her.”
COMMBANK MATILDAS | JUNE 2026 | NEXT GAME
CommBank Matildas v Mexico
Date: Tuesday, 9 June 2026
Kick-off: 7.00pm AEST
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
TV Broadcast: Paramount+ exclusive
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