Joe Montemurro warns of 'old habits' Matildas must escape to lift the Women's Asian Cup trophy

The evolution of the Matildas under Joe Montemurro has been immense, but the star coach is not content with what he has seen so far at the Women's Asian Cup.

Montemurro only accepted the top job with the national team nine months ago and has managed to lead them to their first final at a major tournament in eight years.

A 2-1 win over China in the Women's Asian Cup semi final on Tuesday put Australia one step away from ending a 16-year title drought. The Matildas will have to wait a little longer to learn who their opponent in the final will be as South Korea and Japan prepare to battle it out on Wednesday evening to join the host nation in that match.

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The experience of veteran Matildas pushed the team through the physically-demanding match against China, with superstar duo Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr scoring the goals.

After Foord's goal gave Australia a 1-0 lead, the Matildas lost their grip on possession, with the midfield dropping too deep and failing to maintain control of the game.

Montemurro was unsure why that had become a theme for his team but he made it clear after the victory that it needed to change to beat China or South Korea in the final.

"After we scored, for some reason, I don't know, we tended to drop off a little bit," Montemurro said.

"When you've got another three metres to cover or another four metres to cover, it makes it hard, especially with ball-playing teams."

The Australian coach felt the team only got their distances right in the first 15 and final 30 minutes of the match, aside from that they were "very, very long".

He made a tactical adjustment to avoid that in the semi-final, calling up Kyra Cooney-Cross, who has played less than 10 minutes in the tournament prior to Tuesday night, to play a link role in midfield.

Cooney-Cross added to the Matildas' control, although Montemurro was miffed that "old habits" kicked in when they were 1-0 up.

"It was just that tactical sort of adjustment we had to make," Montemurro said.

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"This is just something that's just going to evolve. We just need to find that continuity of doing that more often as part of our DNA.

"I think we tend to sort of go back into old habits. I don't know if they're good habits or bad habits. They're habits that I don't like because to play modern football we have to be proactive, we have to be high and we have to be braver with the ball."

He added: "We know deep down in our hearts that we need to be better.

"We need to be more continuous with the way we played ... but we found something and got through."

Montemurro impressed by his team's self-belief, recognising the impact of his superstar skipper Kerr.

Montemurro reaffirmed his belief that Kerr is a "world class player", but said the team had others it could call on to make a difference to results.

Alanna Kennedy currently leads the race to win the golden boot for the tournament, scoring five goals in three matches prior to the semi final.

Kerr has been unlocked at vital moments in matches for the team and is getting back towards her best, as evidenced by the winning goal, which very few players could score.

The star striker admitted post-match on Paramount+ that she believes she sits around the 85 per cent mark when it comes to match fitness, but the motivation to secure a spot in the final was all she needed to push through the full 90 minutes.

"I was absolutely tired," she said.

"I didn't care who scored tonight, I just wanted to make sure we won."

Kerr has been a mainstay in the Australian squad since she made her debut back in 2009, with many of her teammates alongside her for most of the journey.

The likes of Foord, Kennedy, Steph Catley, Katrina Gorry and Mackenzie Arnold have all played alongside Kerr for the best part of 15 years.

To be able to lift a trophy would be the final piece to the puzzle of their journey together.

"We have been fighting so long to get here," Foord told reporters post-match.

"I just feel like it has finally paid off. We deserve to be there and to be playing for a trophy. We have an opportunity to lift the trophy here on home soil.

"This team has been so close so many times and just fallen short, normally at this hurdle. We got over it this time and we'll give our everything to finally win a trophy.

"It's been a long time coming."

Japan and South Korea play off on Wednesday night for the other spot in the final. Neither opponent will be easy.

The final will kick off at 8pm on Saturday, March 21 at Accor Stadium.