CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro expressed his excitement about the team’s all-important clash against Korea Republic at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday evening.
Both teams have already progressed to the quarter-final stage of the tournament, but the winner of the game will finish top of Group A. In the event of a draw, it will be Korea Republic who finish top.
Montemurro was speaking alongside Steph Catley at the official pre-match press conference in Sydney on Saturday.
“It’s an exciting event tomorrow night. This is what we play these tournaments for, so we’re very much looking forward to the game tomorrow,” he said.
He said that, while he was pleased with their results so far, they were focused on continuing to build into the tournament.
“Tournaments are not won in the first game or the second game; they’re won in progressing and building into the tournament,” he said.
“We always knew that Korea Republic was going to be an important game for us moving forward, but the work's been done in the last week and a half. We believe that we're starting to find our rhythm and find those connections and collaborations in the field that put us in a good position.”
In terms of the team that might line up for Matchday 3, he said that he would put out the best team that he believed could win the game. He confirmed that it would unfortunately not include Hayley Raso, who will be unavailable due to symptoms of concussion. It may include Mackenzie Arnold and Kyra Cooney-Cross, who are both back in full training.
“Game for game, scenario for scenario, is very important,” he said.
“That's why you've got 26 players, and all 26 contribute in certain ways. Tomorrow we'll put out a team that we believe is the one that's going to give us the opportunities to win the match. But again, it’s a tournament that needs all elements of players to be ready. Whether it's 10 minutes or 15 minutes, it's so important.
“There are a lot of good match winners that can come on and change the game. So the starting 11 is important, but also how we progress during the match and how we make the changes accordingly, is also vitally important.”
Three players that may be important for this game and for the remainder of the tournament are the attacking trio of Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord and Mary Fowler, who fans got to see for the first time in over two years against IR Iran.
“It’s an exciting trio, going forward, obviously,” he said.
“Their compactness, even when we lose the ball, and their ability to understand how we win the ball back is also important, because that ability to win the ball and then to go again is crucial.
“It's now about game rhythm. It's about them playing together. It's about them finding those little bits of combinations with the full backs that advance and the midfielders that advance in those areas there.
“The more they play together, the more they're combining together, the more they're connecting. I think we’ll see a world-class front three.”
Catley said that the team learned a lot from the defeat that Korea Republic inflicted on them in the quarter-finals of the 2022 edition of the tournament, and they are excited to meet them again on this stage four years later.
“That was a big moment for us as a team. I think we learned a lot from that game and that tournament,” she said.
“It was challenging conditions over there, and I think we struggled most of the tournament. That game in particular, we were quite wasteful and didn't finish our chances. A team like Korea Republic, takes advantage of theirs, and then the game's over.
“So we've definitely learned from that moment and been holding on to it, and we want to make sure we do everything we can to not feel that again.”
The defender is expecting a more intense game, with more pressure on the back line to deliver than in the previous two matches.
“It's natural that there's going to be a step up in intensity now, and that means that we will be called upon more as a back line and as a defensive unit,” she explained.
“But defending starts from the front. That starts from our press and organising ourselves from the front, and forcing the game to go in a certain direction, which means we can control it. We’ve had some good moments in practising that, but I think it will be a much more active game against Korea Republic.
“From what we’ve watched from the footage so far and how they've been playing, they're a great team. They're very creative, they're good on the ball. They're skilful. It'll be a great game.”
There has been plenty of talk around permutations regarding goal difference. If Australia fail to defeat Korea Republic, they will finish second in the group and will face a different path to potentially reaching the final.
Catley said that from a player’s perspective, it is simply about keeping focused on one game at a time.
“Tournaments go either direction, and they throw so much at you every single day,” she said.
“It’s keeping squads healthy. It's getting from one match to the next. The worst thing you can do is think too far ahead, because then you take your eyes off what actually matters, and that's winning the game that's right in front of you.
“You definitely see the directions [the tournament can go], but you let yourself see it, and then focus back on it in the moment. And that, for us, is Korea Republic tomorrow.”
AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™
CommBank Matildas 1 v 0 Philippines
Date: Sunday, 1 March 2026
IR Iran 0 v CommBank Matildas 4
Date: Thursday, 5 March 2026
CommBank Matildas v Korea Republic
Date: Sunday, 8 March 2026
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Time: 8:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+
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