CommBank Matildas Head Coach Joe Montemurro said that the team had created the foundations that they need to work towards the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026™ during the extended camp.
He was speaking to media after Australia’s 3-2 victory over Panama on Tuesday evening in Perth.
“The first thing is, they’re an amazing bunch of athletes that really love representing their country, and love being in camp,” he said.
“The second [goal] was to instil a direction, through a base of what we believe will be a team that will win major tournaments.
“We’ve taken away a lot of tactical snippets so that now, we know where we need to solve problems.”
While Australia did come away with the win, Montemurro was unhappy with several areas of the performance, noting that there was a lot to work on.
“We fell into the trap of wanting to rush the play when we needed to slow it down, and slowing it down when we needed to go quick,” he explained.
“That caused a lot of technical errors, because people weren't in position at the right time. People weren't in their right zones at the right time. Every time we turned the ball over, Panama looked like they were going to hurt us.
“We put ourselves in trouble a few times, and today I was a little bit disappointed, because there were things I thought we got rid of over the last three games. Obviously, we've got some more work to do.”
One of the bright sparks of the game was a brace from Michelle Heyman, who leapt to fifth on the all-time CommBank Matildas goal-scoring charts.
Montemurro was full of praise for his striker.
“When you need her to lift the level, when you need her to work for the team, she’s always there,” he said.
“It's an honour to work with an athlete, and with a character of this nature. I've been honoured enough to have worked with some of the best strikers in the world - Ada Hegerberg, Vivianne Miedema - but the character that is Michelle Heyman, we should all be proud of.
“We should all be proud of who she is and what she's contributing to football, and to sport in general.”
He ended by giving some insights into what the next international window, in October, may look like.
“It makes sense to probably get them together in Europe for the next one, to play against some good opposition,” he said, referencing the many players who will be based there for their pre-season at the time.
“I want to play against some different styles. Then, in the lead-up to the Asian Cup, come back home, closer to the tournament, and base ourselves here.
“It makes sense from a physical perspective, but also the work we can do with them, where they are in their leagues.”
Most of the squad will now have an opportunity to rest before commencing pre-season with their clubs prior to the October window.
