Why 'hiccup' in group stage could be a blessing in disguise for Matildas at Asian Cup
No team ever wants to take the long road to the final at a major tournament, but for the Matildas that path at the Women's Asian Cup has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The Matildas have yet to record a loss in the 2026 tournament, posting a 3-3 draw against South Korea on Sunday to follow wins over Iran and the Philippines.
But their performances could only jag them second place in Group A, with South Korea taking top spot on goal difference.
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It means the Aussies will have to take a five-hour flight across the country to Perth to continue their campaign, for a quarter final on Friday night.
Coach Joe Montemurro is opting to look at the positives.
"We knew [travelling across the country] was a possibility and we prepared for it," Montemurro said in his post-match press conference.
Joe Montemurro has only recorded one loss since taking over the Matildas. Getty
"The reality is that in tournaments, we all want it to go perfect, we all want it to go fantastic, and there's always a little hiccup along the way.
"In the end, we still haven't lost a game. In the end, we qualified for the quarter-finals and we knew it was always going to be a tough ask [against South Korea]."
The first game of the quarter finals will see the Matildas take on either North Korea or China in Perth, with those two nations scheduled to face off on Monday evening.
While neither side will be an easy opponent for the girls in green and gold, the Matildas can be somewhat content that they will likely no longer meet Japan in the semi final.
Had Australia won against South Korea, they would have had a more favourable quarter final battle against Vietnam, Uzbekistan or Taiwan.
Japan is the top-ranked side in Asia, sitting eighth on the global standings, and the nation is also the favourites to lift the Asian Cup trophy this year.
Riko Ueki of Japan celebrates a goal. Getty
North Korea are just behind Japan in ninth while Australia is ranked 15th in the world.
When it comes to preparing for opponents of that calibre, Montemurro has no plans to alter the strategies that he has implemented with the team during his short tenure.
"I think our preparation will stay exactly the same, we will keep moving forward," he said.
"We just now we have to manage the travel which we were prepared for.
"We have to keep the ball better. We can not afford to (not).
"When we do it, we do it well. But then we started to force things when we didn't need to ... the game (against Korea) got scrappy and to a point that I didn't like, to be honest.
"All credit to Korea, they managed the game a little bit better than us. It was a patchy sort of game and we never really found momentum, which is disappointing."
(L-R) Mary Fowler, Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord gesture to the fans. Getty
Two of the glaring issues the Matildas will need to fix heading into the knockout stages of the tournament are nailing their shots at goal and also filling the holes in defence.
In the first half alone on Sunday night, the Matildas took 12 shots compared to South Korea's three. Just two of Australia's shots found the back of the net, while their opponents nailed one.
By the game's end, Australia punched another ball into the back of the net while two substitutes for South Korea found two goals in the space of three minutes.
Still, out of the 18 shots the Matildas fired towards the goal, only nine were on target.
Alanna Kennedy has become Australia's unexpected secret weapon when it comes to scoring goals, currently the tournament's top goal scorer.
"It is so good, I am so proud of her," Katrina Gorry told reporters including Wide World of Sports.
"The last couple of years haven't been easy for her, but now she is out here scoring absolute bangers. I am so grateful to be on the pitch with her."
Alanna Kennedy has scored four goals so far in the 2026 Women's Asian Cup. Getty
While taking on the role of a No.6 is typically not the position Kennedy would play, Montemurro believes that is the best spot for her to succeed playing his style of football.
But he could not shy away from the issues in his side's defensive strategy, especially when the group was giving away free kicks and penalties.
"The first goal, our (defence) got exposed and we didn't manage that well," Montemurro said.
"I am probably more concerned that we didn't control the game with the ball well when we should've. Those moments hurt us.
"I think sometimes we did go long when we shouldn't have gone long and that was a little bit frustrating from my perspective.
"Players make mistakes and they make errors ... they just have to learn how to manage these moments a little bit better and be a little bit smarter.
"It was very specific coming in after half time that we had to manage the ball well. We didn't and we got punished for it."
The Matildas will play in the quarter final on Friday in Perth.
