It was a six-goal thriller to end Group A's group stage of the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026™, with the CommBank Matildas finishing runners-up to Korea Republic after a 3-3 draw.
Post-match, midfielder Katrina Gorry spoke about the learnings she and the team will take into the knockout rounds of the tournament.
Despite Australia scoring three goals, there were several chances left begging. Gorry gave an honest assessment of the match and her individual performance.
"I think we probably deserved a bit more. I thought in patches, we played well. We had a few good opportunities at the start of the game that we probably needed to put away," she said.
"It's tough. Obviously, you think about it over and over again. What could you have done differently? I should have put one in the back of the net, but those things happen. It's football at the end of the day, and it doesn't matter how long your career is; you're going to have missed opportunities. I've still got to learn and grow, but you live and you learn."
It was a back-and-forth battle all evening, with Korea Republic drawing first blood in the ninth minute. Alanna Kennedy levelled at 31' before captain Sam Kerr put Australia on top at halftime. Korea Republic were awarded a penalty in the 50th minute due to a handball, which they converted, followed by their third goal at 56'. Kennedy then secured the 3-3 draw in the 98th minute.
"We always have that never-say-die spirit, and I think if we had an extra couple of minutes, we could have changed the game again. But at the end of the day, it shouldn't come down to that," she said.
"We had missed opportunities. We let them get a few goals back, which is never ideal against a team like that. So it's a tough one to take. But at the end of the day, we drew the game. We came back. And there are a lot of things that we should be proud of. We're taking a tougher route now, but we're capable of anything."
Gorry was asked how important it was to come away with a point, as they look to take on either China or North Korea in the quarterfinals.
"I don't think it matters who we play. We believe in this team, we believe in each other. I think regardless of who we end up playing, we'll go out guns blazing," she said.
"We've learned a lot from this game, so we can take that into the next game and make sure this doesn't happen again."
With the match being played on International Women's Day, Gorry was asked the significance of playing in front of a record-breaking Women's Asian Cup crowd.
"It's really special. I've been in the team for a long time, so to reflect on where we came from to where we are now, it's a special time to be a
female athlete. To have young kids looking up to us, and to be celebrating International Women's Day on a day like today, with the full crowd singing the National Anthem... I think we put on a show. It was just a disappointing result."
AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™
CommBank Matildas v Group B Runner Up
Date: Friday, 13 March 2026
Venue: Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth
Time: 6:00pm AWST/9:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Radio: ABC Sport & ABC Listen
Buy Tickets