Montemurro: It was a good game for us
Hear from CommBank Matildas head coach Joe Montemurro following Australia's 2-1 victory over Wales at Cardiff City Stadium.
Montemurro was talking to the media after Australia's first-ever meeting with Wales, talking about the team's performance, Kerr's return and Wales' Jess Fishlock's retirement from international football.
"It was a good game for us. Obviously, we went in with a couple of ideas, ball retention was very important for us to make sure that we prepared a lot of the opportunities to go forward."
"We lost our way probably about 15 minutes in the first half, where we got a little bit stretched, and I think we couldn't find outlets going forward, and they were very good on the break," Montemurro explained.
"Then we fixed it in the second half, where we knew exactly where to sort of direct the team, and a sloppy pass inside forced Wales' very good goal. But all in all, we created enough, I think, to win the game."
The fixture saw the return of Australia's all-time leading goalscorer, with Sam Kerr making her first appearance in 725 days, starting in the game and playing 60 minutes.
"Great having her back. Her first start, the more she starts games, the more she'll grow into the Sam Kerr that we know. We're very happy with the 60 minutes."
The CommBank Matildas will now travel to England to take on the reigning UEFA Women's EURO Champions, England, in what will be a good test for the side. The last time the two sides met was during the semi-final of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.
"Another big challenge, another big test, obviously European champions and a star-studded team, but we're looking forward to it,"
"We're really focusing on what we're trying to do because we believe it's the way forward, and we believe that the more we retain, retain the ball and create opportunities to go forward, we'll be better for it in the end."
Wales farewelled their 165-capped captain Jess Fishlock in the game, with a number of the Australian team playing alongside her during her stints at Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory and Seattle Reign.
Montemurro was her coach for a number of seasons at Melbourne City, and had nothing but praise for Fishlock following her retirement.
"I had the honour of working with Jess. I would like to thank the opportunity was an absolute privilege to be part of this game. She deserves everything that she gets, because she's been a great advocate, not only for women's football, but just basically, for women in general,"
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+
Buy Tickets