CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro said that the team was putting all the pieces together during this international window to prepare for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026™.
He was speaking to media alongside Steph Catley ahead of the team’s match against European Champions England on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
“The first camp in June and July was to really just instil some messages on how we want to play, and our methodology and processes,” he said.
“It was really exciting to look at 30-odd players, because we had four games. That was really good from that perspective.
“We're at a point now where we start to stabilise the squad, and really start to prepare for the Asian Cup.
“We’re really putting the pieces together and preparing for the Asian Cup, and we're in a good space.”
He gave an update on the fitness of the squad, saying that while everyone was fit and available, there may be some rotations with the future in mind.
“Everyone's in good shape,” he revealed.
“We’re obviously very sympathetic to the minutes and the management of players coming out of Champions League, and what they're going into, and then we've got a short turnaround for the next camp. So we're going to look at that for tomorrow night, and make sure we don't put any players at risk.
“But everyone's fine. Everyone's smiling at breakfast. Everyone was quite happy - the breakfast must be good! We're all ready to go.”
Montemurro explained that part of the journey to the next major tournament is ensuring that the entire squad, including an extended group, is prepared.
He cited Courtney Nevin’s first international goal as an example of that whole squad preparation and reward for her hard work at the club level.
“We're not on a journey just to prepare for the Asian Cup, and have just a solid few players for that - we're looking at the whole squad,” he said.
“It’s really important that this whole squad is prepared for the Asian Cup, but also gives us that momentum for after the Asian Cup going forward.
“She's [Nevin] definitely a player that's doing well at Malmö. She's doing really, really well and playing regularly. She has certain qualities that are really, really important for the squad, so it was good to see her get a good start in the national team, but also have a very good performance.”
England are a team that many players in the squad are familiar with after playing with and against them in the WSL over the years.
Montemurro also knows many of the players well, having led Arsenal to a WSL title back in 2018/19.
“It’s a special honour [to play England],” he said.
“I would like to congratulate the Lionesses on their amazing European performance. It was great to watch. To come up and play against one of the top teams in the world is an honour and, to be back in familiar surroundings, it’s extra special.”
He expected England to come out firing after their defeat against Brazil in the first game of the international window.
“I'm sure the Lionesses don’t want another negative result, so I'm sure they'll come out with the opportunity to make sure that they are physically prepared and ready for a game,” he said.
“For us, it's a very, very good test, because it shows a competition scenario where the second game of a group stage is the most important one. The Lionesses lost their first game in the Euros, so they're going to be prepared to come back… and we'll be prepared for that too.”
However, for the game itself, the focus was very much inward.
“We're really focusing on what we need to tidy up and what the things are that we need to detail,” he explained.
“For us, it was more about details, which is more about a little bit of details in the defensive phase.
“The game will be different – it’s a different setup of the team. We’ll look at those little differences and make sure that we can adapt our ideas to make sure that we don't stray too much away from what we're trying to achieve, but also be aware of what threats England will cause.”
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+
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