{"id":481953,"date":"2025-12-02T10:29:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T11:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=481953"},"modified":"2025-12-02T23:21:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T23:21:12","slug":"matildas-end-year-on-high-as-focus-turns-to-asian-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=481953","title":{"rendered":"Matildas end year on high as focus turns to Asian Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Matildas<\/a> have closed their 2025 campaign on a high, defeating New Zealand 2-0 in front of a packed crowd in Adelaide on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\ufeffIn what was the final chance for players to plead their case to coach Joe Montemurro<\/a> for Asian Cup selection, there was no doubting the strength of the home side.<\/p>\n

Hayley Raso and Alanna Kennedy both found the net as Australia had 14 shots while their rivals from across the ditch managed just four\ufeff.<\/p>\n

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It was the first match in more than two years that the Matildas have played with superstar striker Sam Kerr in the starting line-up on home soil, much to the joy of the crowd.<\/p>\n

Kerr was in strong space around the field, assisting in the creation of several goal-scoring chances. However, she never found a moment to take a solid strike herself.<\/p>\n

Montemurro had been coy in the build-up to the match about whether the Chelsea star would be taking to the field, although he was clear it was up to her how long she stayed there.<\/p>\n

In the end, \ufeffshe lasted 45 minutes before she was substituted.<\/p>\n

\"Alanna<\/p>\n

Kennedy couldn't play in the last match against New Zealand due to suspension but the defender was not going to let any major errors spoil her return to the national team.<\/p>\n

Two shots at goal by Raso and Caitlin Foord put the Kiwis on notice early.<\/p>\n

The Matildas only needed a few more minutes on the pitch before they sent the ball flying past New Zealand keeper Alina Santos to find the back of the net in the 19th minute.<\/p>\n

Kennedy was the \ufeffplayer to get the job done for Australia, getting her boot in the middle of a deflection attempt by New Zealand and firing it into the goal.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffThat goal had a bit of feeling behind it," Australian great Grace Gill said in commentary on Paramount+.<\/p>\n

Andy Harper called it a "beautiful hit".<\/p>\n

"She starts as a defensive midfielder and finishes like a striker," he said.<\/p>\n

Football's<\/strong><\/em> new home, Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, is the only place to watch the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, WSL, European World Cup qualifiers, J.League, NSWL and K League<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

New Zealand's new 4-3-3 formation exposed some cracks in the Matildas' defence\ufeff, with Teagan Micah put to the test on four occasions in a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n

It did not take long for the Australians to find their feet once again, trying eight shots that all swerved wide of the posts.<\/p>\n

At half time, Montemurro put an end to the playing time of Kerr and Ellie Carpenter. The pair's departure paved the way for Courtney Nevin and Holly McNamara to enter.<\/p>\n

\"Hayley<\/p>\n

Soon after, Raso found her moment to score Australia's second goal.<\/p>\n

Raso's goal came at the expense of \ufeffNew Zealand's Katie Kitching, who fell heavily to the turf after being struck in the face by a powerful Steph Catley cross.<\/p>\n

The ball rebounded and landed in the path of Raso, who pushed Australia's lead over the tourists to 2-0.<\/p>\n

Kitching was quickly escorted off the field following the incident but she did appear in good spirits as she walked to the bench.<\/p>\n

\"Katie<\/p>\n

Foord looked to extend Australia's lead to 3-0 in the final 20 minutes but she could not find a moment to sneak one past Santos, despite several attempts.<\/p>\n

The next time the Matildas will be in action will be in the Asian Cup, which is set to kick off in Perth \ufeffon March 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Matildas have closed their 2025 campaign on a high, defeating New Zealand 2-0 in front of a packed crowd in Adelaide on Tuesday. \ufeffIn […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":481955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=481953"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481959,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481953\/revisions\/481959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/481955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=481953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=481953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=481953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}