CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro said that the team had learned a lot of valuable information from the team’s 3-0 loss to England on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
Speaking to media after the match, he expressed the value of playing the majority of the game down a player after Alanna Kennedy was shown a red card in the 19th minute.
“Simulating a situation when you go a player down very, very early, you have to find another level of discipline without the ball,” he said.
“You haven't got the ball, so you have to find a level of discipline in understanding that you have to give away certain qualities or attributes that certain players have. You can't put them into practice. They have to do other things.
“We found out some good ideas in terms of profiles of players and what they can do in these situations. So for us, we take a lot of important information away from this game – [but] it's disappointing that we didn't get a chance to do what we want to do with the ball.”
He elaborated on the frustration of not being able to enact key parts of the game plan, but praised the way that England played.
“I’m a bit frustrated that we didn't get a chance to affect any part of our game plan,” he said.
“We didn't start well, that's the honest truth. You could see England was pressing higher and obviously more proactive - the defensive phase was a lot higher. We didn't get any rhythm. And the game changed with the then players.
“The second half, we made a few adjustments, and probably limited a little bit of the opportunities in the box for England.
“But they're a world-class side. They started well, even before the sending off. We take it as a massive learning curve for us.”
Right-back Ellie Carpenter said that the result was disappointing, but the team fought until the end.
"Obviously very disappointed with the result tonight," she said.
"You never want to go play down [a player]. As a group, we reacted well, but it's never easy.
"I think in the second half we were defensively better. Credit to the group - we always fight to the end, and that's the Aussie spirit. But obviously, like I said, going down that early is never nice."
She echoed the words of her coach, expressing that the game was ultimately a learning opportunity for the group.
"It's important for us to have these tests now, before the Asian Cup," she explained.
"Anything can happen in those games as well. So this is a learning opportunity for the group, and also how we come together and fix these issues, because anything can happen in football."
One positive for Montemurro was that being able to work with the core squad, in Europe – minimising the travel for the majority of players – was a valuable exercise.
“Just being able to work with the core group, to have everyone together, and being able to put those connections together, has been really, really important,” the Head Coach explained.
“We saw some really, really good things in terms of growth for Sam [Kerr] from that perspective. She's judged purely on her football performance and integration in the group. And she's been absolutely brilliant over the last night, over the last week and a half.”
Kerr took the captain’s armband for the first time since her return against England, and started both games in a positive window for the Chelsea striker.
“We've made a decision internally for what we believe is the best for a football performance and for the group,” Montemurro said.
“I make football decisions. I'm not going to make any political decisions. They're purely football, and Sam is an important part of what we're trying to do.
“As far as we're concerned, we just kept the status quo going forward, and we're happy with her continuing on as captain.”