CommBank Matildas forward Caitlin Foord said that she couldn’t thank Tom Sermanni enough for the impact that he has had on her career, and football in Australia more broadly.
She was speaking in Canberra after the CommBank Matildas 4-1 victory over Argentina on Monday evening.
“I can't thank him enough for bringing me into this squad, along with many of the other senior girls as well,” she said.
“He started our career. It’s almost like a full circle to have him back in. He was the right person to step in [in September]. He knows the team. He brought back that Australian fight within us. And now he hands it over to Joe [Montemurro].”
Foord knows Montemurro well. It was Montemurro who brought her over to Arsenal back in 2020, the club with which she won the UEFA Women’s Champions League this year.
She said she was looking forward to the style of football he would bring to the team.
“I'm so excited to have him,” she said.
“He's a great person and a great coach. I think he’s going to be great for this team. You can expect us to play a good brand of football. I'm excited for it.”
She recounted the moment he met the playing group on match day.
“He didn't want to take too much away from Tom - obviously, we still had this game to go,” she said.
“It was just [him] saying hello, and how excited and I guess a bit emotional to have this job, because he's been looking at it for a long time. I think he's as excited as we are.
“But as I said, he didn't want to take the moment away from Tom. We had this game to do with him, and to celebrate him today.”
Foord was noticeably sharp on the pitch and said that she was feeling good after returning from a few days celebration in London after the UWCL victory.
“I got a good rest on the plane, and the two nights coming into this game, I slept well,” she explained.
“So I was ready to go, and I felt good out there.”
She said she would be having a break in her near future but was looking forward to some great games coming up against Slovenia and Panama in the next international window.
COMMBANK MATILDAS | WA SERIES ONE | MATCH SCHEDULE
CommBank Matildas v Slovenia
Date: Thursday, 26 June 2025
Kick-off: 7.00pm WST / 9.00pm AEST
Venue: HBF Park, Perth
TV Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+
Radio Broadcast: ABC Listen App
Tickets: Buy Tickets
CommBank Matildas v Slovenia
Date: Sunday, 29 June 2025
Kick-off: 6.00pm WST / 8.00pm AEST
Venue: HBF Park, Perth
TV Broadcast: Paramount+ exclusive
Radio Broadcast: ABC Listen App
Tickets: Buy Tickets
