Key events
5 Mins: Another Korean attack forward sees Mun getting on the ball in her foe’s penalty area but her attempted backheel is picked out. The Matildas look to try and break quickly down the right but are denied transition and forced to reset in possession.
4 Mins: A much more promising breakaway from the Koreans gives them a three on two breakaway. Fortunately for the hosts, the move ends when Mun puts too much mustard on her ball in behind for Kang.
3 Mins: A first foray forward by the Koreans ends with them running afoul of the offside trap.
2 Mins: McNamara fouls her marker as a high ball is lopped into the box. van Egmond knocks the deal ball into the net to a few scattered cheers but the Koreans had stopped defending at that point.
1 Min: The Matildas are looking to build out from the back after winning an early throw-in but after a nascent press starts to come in they can’t progress the ball into Korea’s half.
The opening whistle sounds
We are underway in the Hunter!
If you’re keeping track of who has dropped out of the squad for the Matildas, Katrina Gorry didn’t make the trip to Australia after picking up a knock with West Ham, Hayley Raso and Ellie Carpenter came into camp with injuries and weren’t risked, while Mackenzie Arnold has returned to the NWSL with an arm injury.
The anthems are complete, the team photos are done and kickoff is imminent in Newcastle.
The two sides are making their way onto the pitch. The Matildas will be wearing their black away kits this evening (actually playing in Australia is a secondary consideration, clearly) while the Koreans will be in red.
The other name that has been reported around the Matildas’ role has been current Western United men’s boss John Aloisi, who is out-of-contract at the end of the A-League Men season and who has previously been on Football Australia’s radar when the Socceroo job became vacant.
I asked him about his reported candidacy at his press conference ahead of United’s 3-1 win over Perth Glory on Saturday.
“First of all, I’ll say that even for my name to be associated with such a big role like that, that’s exciting. But there’s always going to be speculation. I’m not going to go too much into it. My contract is up, there’s jobs available, there’s jobs around.
“I’m sure that there will be people thinking that I might be right for certain jobs. But at the moment my full focus is on what I’m doing here with Western United. We’ve got five games to go, an important game tomorrow, and that’s all my focus is on at the moment.
“[His talks on returning to Western United are] still ongoing. There’s a bit to get through with that side. At the moment, there’s no progress. We’re just still in talks.”
If Montemurro does come in it’s almost certain that he’d be arriving with a significant mandate. Unlike the last time the Matildas were in the market for a coach when he lost out to Tony Gustavsson, the 55-year-old has significant leverage this time around, with Football Australia absolutely needing him far more than he needs them.
This would likely see him able to bring in plenty of his own staff – his current assistant at Lyon Joe Palatsides was just pictured on the Paramount+ coverage – as well as the power to run things his own way.
The circumstances are different – one caused by a sudden vacancy and the other by a lengthy delay by the federation – but it’s not to dissimilar to the situation with Tony Popovic when Football Australia turned to him to lead the Socceroos; the Golden Generation member able to re-shape the side in his image after being parachuted in to rescue a floundering qualifying campaign after Graham Arnold’s sudden exit.
Will this be Sermanni’s final game in charge of the Matildas? “Who knows,” he saus on the Paramount+ coverage when he’s asked pre-game. Harsh as it might sound, hopefully, given that every day that passes without Football Australia appointing a full-time coach is a day that they don’t get preparing the side for next year’s Asian Cup on home soil.
By all appearances, it seems that the role is Joe Montemurro’s if he wants it. He’s familiar with the squad, has won titles across the A-League Women and Europe, and would seemingly possess the tools to not only stage an assault on the Asian Cup but also manage the urgently-needed rejuvenation in the squad.
However, the former coach of Melbourne City, Arsenal, and Juventus boss (who I like to refer to as the former Brunswick Juventus midfielder) would need to break a contract for next season with French powers Lyon to take up the gig. And even if he does want to move into national team management, the UEFA Women’s Champions League final is on the 25th of May, just five days before the Matildas are next in action against Argentina in Melbourne. So even if he does take the role, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be in place for the next window.
Three changes to the Matildas XI from Sermanni, as Nevin, Fowler and Wheeler come into the team for Jamilla Rankin, Winnie Heatley, and Caitlin Foord.
Probably not a surprise to see Foord make way; she suffered a blow to the schnozz on Friday night and is in the middle of a packed WSL season with Arsenal.
Starting XIs
Australia XI: Teagan Micah (GK), Courtney Nevin, Clare Wheeler, Steph Catley (C), Emily van Egmond, Tameka Yallop, Alanna Kennedy, Holly McNamara, Charlotte Grant, Kyra Cooney-Cross
Subs: Heatley, Torpey, Davidson, Heyman, Hunt, Foord, Rankin, Prior, Lincoln (GK), James (GK)
South Korea XI: Kim Min-jung (Gk), Lim Seon-joo, Shin Haye-ong, Kim Shin-ji, Choi Yoo-jung, Ji Soy-un, Lee Young-ju (C), Kim Hye-ri, Choo Hyo-joo, Kang Chae-rim
Subs: Kim (GK), Jeong, Bae, Ko, Lee, Choi, Lee, Jung, Lee, Phair, Kim, Jeong
𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝗮𝘀 𝗢𝗡𝗘, 하나되어 빛나는 순간!✨
4월 원정 친선경기 호주전에 출전하는 🇰🇷여자축구국가대표팀의 선발명단을 공개합니다!📌Non-playing 류지수, 이유진, 최유리
✔여자축구국가대표팀 친선경기
🇰🇷v🇦🇺#호주 04.07(월) 18:30 📺TV조선2, tvN Sports , 쿠팡플레이
⏰한국시간 기준 pic.twitter.com/mF8MYjtYkx— theKFA (@theKFA) April 7, 2025
Preamble
Joey Lynch
Howdy one and all! Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the second game of this two-game friendly series between the Matildas and South Korea. My name’s Joey Lynch and I’m set to take you through all the action this evening.
After a Lim Seon-Joo own-goal was enough for an injury-hit Australian side to earn a 1-0 win in the first clash between the two sides in Sydney last Friday, our belligerents this evening have headed up the highway to Newcastle for their re-match, to the home of the Jets (and Knights too, I guess) at McDonald Jones Stadium.
After a winless SheBelieves Cup campaign at the start of 2025 laid bare the state of purgatory the Matildas have been placed in without a permanent coach, that win over the Taegeuk Ladies served as an important stabiliser for the side; providing a much-needed boost in morale for team and fans alike. It also provided some deserved respite for interim boss Tom Sermanni, who was tasked with righting the ship and getting the team enjoying their football again after last year’s Olympics but, in the face of Football Australia’s turgid search for a permanent coach, has been left in place long after he accomplished this task.
There were some positive footballing signs from that game, too, with the deployment of a fluid frontline of Mary Fowler, Caitlin Foord, and Holly McNamara giving the former the scope to affect the game from where she does her best work out wide when she came off the bench. Katrina Gorry a late withdrawal from the squad with injury, Kyra Cooney-Cross also drew praise for her work leading the midfield and Charli Grant – getting some much-needed game time after logging just 285 cumulative WSL minutes at Spurs this season – was also one of Australia’s best.
With load management an important factor in addition to the numerous injuries that have hit the team, Sermanni will once again be forced to reshuffle his XI and substitutes for this one. We’ll have line-ups for you shortly. Invariably, there will also be plenty of shots of Sam Kerr in the stands to attract the attention, too.
Kick-off is at 7:30pm AEST / 10:30am BST / 2:30am PT.
