CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro said that while their performances to reach the final have been far from perfect, the team’s belief in themselves and momentum has carried them to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ final.
He was speaking to media alongside Player of the Match Caitlin Foord after the team’s 2-1 victory over China PR on Tuesday evening.
“Our objective of getting to the final is complete, but we know deep down in our hearts that we need to be better, more continuous in terms of the way that we play – but we found something again, and we got through,” he said.
“It's a bit of momentum. It's a bit of belief. Even though we didn't find the continuity that we wanted with the ball, the patches that we did things right were good. So it's now putting all of that together.
“You could just feel the momentum and belief of this team. The belief of all 26 players that are involved that they want to do something… that’s tournament football.”
He explained the tactical issues that the team faced during the game, and the ways that they were able to resolve them.
“The first 10 or 15, minutes, I thought we were good. And the last 25 or 30, I thought we were good. We just got our distances right,” he said.
“Our distances [between lines] were very long after we scored [the first goal]. For some reason, we tend to drop off a little bit. When you've got another three metres to cover, or another four metres to cover, it makes it hard, especially with more ball-playing teams.
“We lifted the line a little bit. We allowed the midfielders to push a little bit higher and when we were getting on the ball, we were able to play out a lot easier because we solved a few problems in midfield. It was just that tactical sort of adjustment we had to make.
“This is just something that's going to evolve. We need to find that continuity of doing that more often as part of our DNA.”
Foord echoed her coach’s thoughts, explaining it was massive to reach the final of a major tournament.
“Like Joe said, there's some stuff we need to clean up - but at the end of the day, it's tournament football, and it's just about getting the job done,” she began.
“We've been fighting so long to get here, and I just feel like finally it's paid off. We deserve to be there [at the final], and we deserve to be playing for a trophy.
"This team, we've been so close so many times, and just fallen short - normally at this hurdle. We got over it this time, and we will give our everything to finally win a trophy together.”
She scored a goal in the first half but also assisted Sam Kerr’s second-half strike that proved to be the winner. She was asked about Kerr’s contribution to the team.
“That's why she's a world-class player - you can be quiet for 89 minutes, and she has one minute, and she scores a goal,” Foord said.
“That’s why she is the player she is. Being a teammate, I can find her in those spaces. She'll do something special. It was a great finish to kill the game off. I’m just happy that she's back playing, and I get to play alongside her again.”
Montemurro added to the praise of Kerr after tonight’s performance.
“Her presence or aura in the squad is immense,” he said.
“She’s just got this way about her. She's likable, she believes in what we're trying to do, she believes in the group, and loves playing for her country.
“When that moment comes, she takes that chance, and that’s the sign of a top forward, because it’s getting harder and harder for forwards to play - defenders are so good, teams are so tactically astute.
“Her link-up play, her ability to take defenders away, her ability to attack the line. It's complete. We all see the goals, but watch the movement off the ball. Watch the movement off the ball of a world-class player.”
Ahead of the final at Stadium Australia on Saturday evening, he had a message to the fans: come out and witness history.
“We want everyone to come out and support this amazing group of people, this amazing group of players,” he said.
“But I think that the biggest thing is to have a lot of pride. Watch the game with a lot of pride and a lot of belief, because this group loves playing for the nation. They represent something special, and we want to make it a special night and a special occasion for all our fans.
“It’s just easiest to watch the game with pride. Watch the game with the beauty of what the game is, and also what these amazing role models have done for not only women's sport, but for the sporting landscape in Australia. And, we just want a packed house.”
AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ Final
Japan or Korea Republic v CommBank Matildas
Date: Saturday, 21 March 2026
Venue: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Time: 8:00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Radio: ABC Sport & ABC Listen
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