Matildas prepare to party like it’s 2023, but let’s call the Asian Cup a soirée

3 months ago 5

Sam Kerr would be thrilled if the Asian Cup started next week instead of in another three months.

Never mind that she could probably use the time between now and March to keep her “small calf injury” under control and get herself back to risk-free 90-minute shifts.

The 45 minutes on the field against New Zealand in Adelaide on Tuesday night revived a feeling lying dormant since the 2023 World Cup. Call it big-tournament energy, perhaps. A sense something big is coming – again. And the intoxicating insanity of the World Cup offered invaluable lessons in handling intense public expectation.

“Yeah, I think that comes with experience,” Kerr said after the Matildas ended the year with a second consecutive win over New Zealand. “And I think everyone’s a bit older, a bit more mature and have experienced it.

“But expectations for us is just to go into every game now and focus on the next game, and not get too far ahead of ourselves. To go fourth at the World Cup is a pretty amazing achievement for an Australian team, so I think we handled it pretty well at the World Cup.

“But it’s a whole new tournament. It’s such a different tournament playing Asian football, and there are so many great teams. It’s going to be tough.”

Fans in Adelaide were thrilled to see Sam Kerr back on the pitch.

The Matildas are preparing to party like it’s 2023 – except let’s call it a soirée because that sounds more grown-up.

So much has changed since Australia’s historic run to the semi-final against England, when Kerr got her Cathy Freeman moment at Stadium Australia with a solo goal for the ages.

New coach. New clubs for many. New players competing for spots with existing players. Some talk has been about an ageing core group, about transition and young blood.

Coach Joe Montemurro and captain Sam Kerr both wish the Asian Cup was starting next week.

Some commentary has been about waiting. Waiting for Joe Montemurro’s appointment while Tom Sermanni spent the good part of a year overseeing – as best as a coach of high stature can – a team treading water.

More recently the question has been one of time. The lack of it. The way Montemurro has been racing against it. Trying to overhaul the style of play with minimal contact over a few short windows.

Now time is up, and the Matildas have played their final friendly before the Asian Cup opener against the Philippines on March 1 in Perth.

And while the two-match series with New Zealand became more of a training run than a challenging hit-out like the 3-0 loss to England last month, it still served its purpose.

For the players, the 5-0 and 2-0 wins in Gosford and Adelaide respectively were 180 minutes of confidence ready to bottle and take into the lead-in proper.

Sam Kerr interacts with Matildas fans after the 2-0 win over New Zealand in Adelaide.

For the fans, it was a chance to enjoy watching the national team enjoying themselves again and playing with a freedom not witnessed for some time.

For Montemurro, it was an opportunity to “solidify an idea” to add to his repertoire. The Football Ferns did – despite their goal-shipping errors – play deep enough to allow Australia to “paint those pictures of what we might get in the Asian Cup” against more defensive opponents.

And Montemurro’s free-flowing philosophy, described by Amy Sayer as Total Football, has rubbed off on a squad soaking up a fresh approach.

“I think we’ve now elevated the squad holistically in a big way, where we’ve got a good group of players that can fit into all different areas and can come into all different situations, understanding the style and the ideas we’re trying to put in,” Montemurro said.

“And I’m in a privileged position to say ‘OK, well, I want to play a little bit more proactive in these areas, or I want to be able to protect these areas’. I can do it because we have the quality of players to do it.

“I wish the tournament was next week, I’ll be honest with you. The buzz that’s been in the camp this week, the energy, the football, the growth. And just the players themselves – they’re just an amazing group.”

Kerr (“we wish it was next week too”) joked it was the medical team’s fault she only got to play the first half at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide – her first outing on home soil for two years – after the striker’s calf niggle sidelined her on Friday.

“This was just a little hiccup,” Kerr said. “I was planning to come to this camp and play two 90s. I played my first 90 with Chelsea a couple of weeks ago, and then a couple of days later had this. So it was just bad luck. Honestly, I didn’t have any signs that this was going to happen, and I planned to come here and get as many minutes as possible.

“So come February I hope to be able to back up 90 minutes again. And again. And again. It feels good, that’s why I wanted to keep going. It’s a bit of a weird one, such a small injury, but I guess you just have to be cautious with it, especially where I’ve come from the last 18 months unfortunately.”