Foord: These games are super important to us
CommBank Matildas forward Caitlin Foord said that the two-game series against New Zealand will be vital in helping the team prepare for the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026™ in March next year.
She was speaking to media from the Central Coast, where the team are preparing for game one on Friday evening.
"I always look forward to coming into camp and putting on the green and gold," she expressed.
"These are our last two games to prepare before the Asian Cup, so they're super important for us. We want to get as much out of them as possible - and that includes two wins as well."
While many of the team, including Foord, had to adjust to the heat in New South Wales after coming from much cooler environments in Europe, she said it was always good to play at home.
"The game before we came over here [for Arsenal] was absolutely freezing, so I was looking forward to getting here in the warm weather - but I didn't expect it to be this hot!" she joked.
"I won't complain, because I'd take the heat over the cold any day.
"We enjoy being here, and love playing at [Central Coast] stadium. I think it's one of the nicest to look at here in Australia, with the palm trees and the water in the background. It's a great spot, and we're looking forward to it."
Foord praised the attacking unit in the team, explaining that threats could come from multiple avenues in the squad.
"That's my job to create and score goals, so I hope [I can score]," she said.
"I don't take any goal for granted in the green and gold. So it's always special.
"The more players score and create goals, the better. It's nice not to have pressure on just one or two players. Anyone in the team can score, and it's going to be super helpful going into the Asian Cup."
She was expecting New Zealand to be tough opposition and perfect preparation for the side.
"It's always a tough game when we play New Zealand," she said.
"There's that rivalry there already. These are games we want to win, and it's always very difficult. So it's going to be a tough game.
"They're going to make it hard. They go very man-on-man [marking]. So it will be difficult, and we have to create our own space. We've seen that they can score goals as well, so we have to be tight at the back and hopefully create a lot more than what they do."
This window is the final preparation before the squad comes together for the Asian Cup next year. However, there will be plenty of games for players at club level - with countless fixtures between now and March - and Foord was confident that the team would go into the tournament ready.
"It is strange that these are the last two games we'll have, but there'll be a lot of football for all of us [at club level] leading in," she explained.
"Individually, we'll be preparing to be in the best form we can coming into the tournament.
"After the buzz of the World Cup, making it to the semi finals, and being so close, we do want to go that step further. To have an opportunity to do it again here in Australia... It's very rare in your career that you get two major tournaments on home soil. So we've got a second chance at it with this tournament coming up.
"We don't want to leave any stone unturned. The goal is to be champions at the end of it, but we'll just be taking it game by game."
COMMBANK MATILDAS | MATCH DETAILS
CommBank Matildas v New Zealand
Date: Friday, 28 November 2025
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEDT
Venue: Polytec Stadium, Gosford
Broadcast: Paramount+
Tickets: Buy Tickets
CommBank Matildas v New Zealand
Date: Tuesday, 2 December 2025
Kick-off: 8pm ACDT
Venue: Coopers Stadium, Adelaide
Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+
Tickets: Buy Tickets