CommBank Matildas vice-captain Ellie Carpenter said that she wasn’t going to back down against strong opponents during the SheBelieves Cup in the United States.
The team will take on Japan, hosts USA and Colombia in a three-match window as they compete for a friendly series trophy.
The United States is an opponent that the CommBank Matildas are very familiar with, with a rivalry that is exacerbated by the number of players who have been teammates at club level, both past and present.
Carpenter plays her club football at Lyon with USA captain Lindsey Heaps (nee Horan) and flew to camp alongside her friend and international opponent.
She said that she wasn’t afraid to seek out her teammate during the game, and joked she would try to get a bump or two in.
“We want to beat them. We want to challenge them,” she said.
“Seeing their roster, it’s quite a mixed roster with experience and youth as well. I’m sure they’re building for the World Cup.
“It’s always fun when you verse teammates. Obviously [Heaps] is a great captain for the US. She’s a great player, world-class player. She’s going to be hard to stop.”
She emphasised the importance of the upcoming SheBelieves Cup in the team’s preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2026™.
Our first arrivals in Houston 👋🇺🇸
🇯🇵v🇦🇺 21.02.25 - 9:03am AEDT
🇺🇸v🇦🇺 24.02.25 - 9:05am AEDT
🇦🇺v🇨🇴 27.02.25 - 11:37am AEDT
📺💻📱: @ParamountPlusAU #Matildas #SheBelievesCup pic.twitter.com/4r8AoxNYcF— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) February 17, 2025
“It’s really important for us, the first camp of the year,” she said.
“This is great for us as a squad, to experience a tournament again. It’s going to be very good to prepare for the Asian Cup.
“All the games are very exciting. They’re all very different oppositions. Japan is an Asian team – we could face them in the Asian Cup. They’re very technical, and very quick on the ball. USA are obviously Olympic champions, [with] their whole other style of play. Obviously, Colombia is very physical as well.
“So the three games are very interesting for us, definitely challenging, but we can approach them differently. It’s a great experience for us especially early in the year.”
This window sees two players enter the CommBank Matildas environment for the first time in Laini Freier and Alana Murphy.
As one of the more experienced members of the squad, Carpenter explained how excited she was to continue to see the next generation of talent come through the national team.
“Recently, we’ve had a lot of young blood come in, and I think their transition has been really good within the team,” she said.
“The environment really sets them up for them to thrive, for them to be comfortable and the pitch. You can see that when we have debuts, you can see how confident they are.
“That’s what we want to do. We want to breed the future, the next generation. We want to see what the next Matildas are going to be, and I think it’s great that we have so many young ones coming in, and stepping up.
“After a few camps, a couple of months in the team, they know the expectation of what it means to be a Matilda, and how to perform, and coming in a high-performance environment. It’s really great to see them thrive, and the future for Australian football is exciting.”
COMMBANK MATILDAS | SHEBELIEVES CUP | 17 – 27 FEBRUARY 2025
Japan v CommBank Matildas
Date: Thursday, 20 February 2025 (local) / Friday, 21 February (AEDT)
Kick-off: 4.03pm CT (local) / 9.03am (AEDT)
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston (TX)
Broadcast: Paramount+
Tickets: ussoccer.com/shebelieves/cup
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
