With a year to go before the Asian Cup kicks off on home soil, the Matildas’ recent travails appear no closer to abating after a third successive defeat. This latest outing ended in a 2-1 loss to a spiky Colombia side, leaving Australia pointless at the SheBelieves Cup and still unsure what the immediate future might hold.
After the Matildas conceded early once again, to Wendy Bonilla’s excellent strike, Hayley Raso’s typically tenacious equaliser midway through the second half ultimately came to nought as the South American side, with a degree of fortune, settled the game thanks to Catalina Usme’s heavily-deflected strike on 73 minutes.
Related: Australia 1-2 Colombia: Matildas end SheBelieves Cup with third defeat – live
Defeat was Australia’s eighth in their last 13 matches.
As this dead rubber played out in San Diego, Football Australia simultaneously held events back home in Sydney, the Gold Coast and Perth to mark the milestone of one year to go before the Women’s Asian Cup begins. The timing of FA’s announcement was odd, but it did serve to bring into sharp focus the scale of the challenge facing the Matildas over the next 12 months.
It has been a taxing week for the Matildas in their first appearance at the prestigious tournament in the US. Three defeats, including one abject performance against Japan, have caused concern, while uncertainty over the identity of who will be in the coaching hot seat come next year’s showpiece on home soil remains, unhelpfully so. And as of Wednesday, thanks to a comedian with a concerningly poor line in the stock of his trade, they find themselves in the middle of a broader national conversation about women’s sport. There is no flying under the radar for this team.
The spotlight could intensify further as the clock ticks towards the big kick off of the Asian Cup – especially if results don’t improve between now and 1 March 2026. After this latest loss, interim coach Tom Sermanni’s record now reads five losses, three wins and a draw. With another notch in the L column, it’s hardly the form of a trophy-winning team.
Sermanni, who will stay in charge for the next two outings – both against South Korea in early April – was not helped here by his team having to play catch-up once again after conceding inside the opening quarter-hour for a third successive match. Tegan Micah, preferred to Mackenzie Arnold in the starting XI, had already justified her selection with a brilliant save to deny dangerwoman Mayra Ramirez, but there was little she could do to stop Bonilla’s precise effort across the face of goal as it cannoned in off the upright.
Ramirez and strike partner Linda Caicedo showed in fits and starts why they are such a feared duo but with problems arising behind them, and Colombia’s defence prone to error especially when attempting to play out of the back, Australia weren’t devoid of opportunities of their own. But Michelle Heyman, another given a chance to impress with a starting berth, fluffed her lines in front of goal, and Kyra Cooney-Cross not once but twice spurned a shooting chance.
Ellie Carpenter was forced off injured just before the break – another immediate concern for Sermanni and potentially his successor too – while the introduction of first Caitlin Foord and then Mary Fowler midway through the second half signalled the Matildas’ intentions as they chased the game with their first-choice front four for the final 25 minutes.
The changes paid off with the impressive Fowler involved in the build up to Raso’s goal on 69 minutes; the Manchester City star played a neat ball to Charli Grant to deliver a ball into the box. Raso’s persistence in the penalty box was rewarded as her shot, via a slight deflection, flew past Colombian keeper Natalia Giraldo. But parity lasted just four minutes after Usme let fly from distance and the ball took a wicked deflection off Clare Hunt, looping over Micah and into the back of the net, to leave the Matildas frustrated and wondering what might have been – and what might be.
