Sermanni: The players have been honest with themselves after loss to Japan

CommBank Matildas Interim Head Coach Tom Sermanni said that the players have taken accountability for their performance against Japan and are looking to turn it around against the United States on Monday morning (AEDT).

At the official pre-match press conference, Sermanni revealed that the team had an internal meeting with no coaching staff present to assess the 4-0 defeat on matchday one of the SheBelieves Cup.

“Everybody was looking at themselves and looking around the team and being able to face the performance honestly,” he said.

“As a coach, you look at yourself after a game – have you selected the team correctly, have you put out the right tactics, etc.

“So we hope when the players get in a room together, that they’re honest enough to look at themselves and to look at what they want to do as a team and to regroup.

“Hopefully now we’ll take that into the second game and put in a better performance.”

He explained that the mood in training had been largely positive and that the players were ready to take on the United States.

“The players have picked themselves up pretty well, to be honest,” he said.

Fans can expect changes to the starting team against the United States with Sermanni stating that he had a full contingent of players to choose from.

“We’re definitely changing the lineup and bringing a few different players in,” he said.

“As I said before the tournament, one of the key things here is for us to try and get game time to players, and it’s important when you’re doing that, you start players as well, so that you put them in that environment straight away.

“There’s a good chance that some of those players who came in [in the second half against Japan] will be starting tomorrow.”

Sermanni is expecting a tough match against world no.1 USA and admitted that a lot of things will have to go right for Australia to get a result.

“The first thing is that we need to be ready to go out there and compete, and deal with their intensity and the quality of play,” he said.

“The US has built up not just a starting team, but a real quality squad, where even if they have five or six key players missing, they still get an outstanding team.

“The first and foremost thing is that we need to go and compete, that’s basically what we need to do. Then if we do that, we need to have the confidence to play the kind of football that we’re capable of.”

COMMBANK MATILDAS | SHEBELIEVES CUP | 17 – 27 FEBRUARY 2025

United States v CommBank Matildas
Date: Sunday, 23 February 2025 (local) / Monday, 24 February (AEDT)
Kick-off: 3.05pm MST (local) / 9.05am (AEDT)
Venue: State Farm Stadium, Glendale (AZ) 
Broadcast: Paramount+
Tickets: ussoccer.com/shebelieves/cup

CommBank Matildas v Colombia
Date: Wednesday, 26 February 2025 (local) / Thursday, 27 February (AEDT)
Kick-off: 4.37pm PST (local) / 11.37am (AEDT)
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego (CA) 
Broadcast: Paramount+
Tickets: ussoccer.com/shebelieves/cup