* Australia beat Taiwan 3-1 in women’s friendly at AAMI Park * Tash Prior, Sharn Freier and Bryleeh Henry score first international goals It wasn’t the regulation result the Matildas had probably expected it to be when play began. And it certainly…

Australia beat Taiwan 3-1 in women’s friendly at AAMI Park Tash Prior, Sharn Freier and Bryleeh Henry score first international goals It wasn’t the regulation result the Matildas had probably expected it to be when play began. And it certainly wasn’t as comprehensive as most of the 26,795 supporters in attendance had anticipated. Going off pre-game remarks from coach Chan Hiu Ming, it likely wasn’t as close a scoreline as the Taiwanese had envisioned. As while Australia’s women did emerge victorious on Wednesday evening, they did so in a somewhat unconvincing fashion, running out 3-1 victors at AAMI Park. Seizing the lead through Natasha Prior in the 10th minute and then doubling it through Sharn Freier in the 12th, the early exchanges had suggested that despite being understrength, the Matildas would almost be able to pick their margin by the end of the 90. Things were looking good and, with the lead delivered by two players scoring their first international goals in their first international starts, the pre-game mantra of “opportunities” taken up by interim coach Tom Sermanni appeared to be manifesting itself in the best possible way. Continue reading...

Man City forward to miss friendlies against Brazil and Taiwan Fowler will still travel to Australia to spend time with family Football fans in Queensland and Victoria will miss out on seeing Mary Fowler in coming friendlies against Brazil and Taiwan after the Matildas forward withdrew from the Australian squad citing mental and physical fatigue. The side is already without striker Sam Kerr as she continues her rehabilitation after a serious knee injury, as well as winger Cortnee Vine who has taken a mental health break from football. Continue reading...

Experienced mentor calls for more opportunities for emerging players Australia to field second-string line-up in friendlies against Taiwan The Matildas haven’t planned well enough for the future, says interim coach Tom Sermanni as he prepares to field a squad missing plenty of Australia’s biggest stars against Taiwan. After a strong team suffered two losses to Brazil in Queensland, an effectively second-string line-up will take on Taiwan at AAMI Park on Wednesday night, then GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night. Continue reading...

ESPN's The Far Post discuss the Matildas 3-1 win over Taiwan, the unconvincing but unsurprising performance, and plenty more!

Updates from the Matildas’ game at AAMI Park Kick-off time in Melbourne is 8pm AEDT Any thoughts? Email or get in touch on Bluesky These two friendlies against Taiwan in Melbourne tonight and in Geelong on Saturday are the Matildas’ last matches for the year. Australia’s record this year is middling, in part due to a disappointing Olympic Games campaign, with six wins, five losses and a draw from their official matches. The women’s national squad will be back together in February for the SheBelieves Cup against Japan, Colombia and hosts USA. Who knows, the Matildas might even have a permanent head coach then, but in the meantime third-time mentor Tom Sermanni will take charge for the pair of clashes with Taiwan. The 70-year-old took a thinly veiled swipe at his predecessors for failing to properly balance present-day success with the future needs of the team. One of the key things as a national team coach is you’ve got to play for the present but plan for the future. And I think, in all fairness, I don’t think we’ve planned for the future well enough. Continue reading...

* Updates from the Matildas’ game at AAMI Park * Kick-off time in Melbourne is 8pm AEDT * Any thoughts? Email or get in touch on Bluesky Resident football reporter Joey Lynch is at AAMI Park this evening and will be wrapping up all the action later…

The Matildas forward will sit out the coming friendlies against Brazil and Taiwan to refresh after a busy domestic schedule

Matildas interim boss Tom Sermanni has declared Saturday’s clash with Taiwan to be “a Clare Polkinghorne game,” with the retiring legend set to start her 169th and final game in an Australian shirt.

Retiring Matildas great Clare Polkinghorne will start against Taiwan in Geelong in her 169th and final international appearance.

Australia beat Taiwan 6-0 as retiring great signs off with victory in her 169th and final international in Geelong

A new wave of Matildas will join established stalwarts as part of an extended 36-player squad for coming friendlies against Brazil and Taiwan.

Of the view that the Matildas setup hasn’t “planned for the future well enough,” interim Matildas boss Tom Sermanni wants to provide opportunities for players in coming friendlies against Taiwan.

With 2027 World Cup qualification secure after a 2-1 win over “the best team”, North Korea, Australia are in the final four in their quest for the Asian Cup trophy.

In the absence of their talisman, Australia have taken more steps back than forward and her presence in the squad this week is timely just four months out from the Asian Cup Looking back at a largely forgettable Matildas victory over Taiwan in Perth almost two years ago, the smile stands out. Sam Kerr grinned after scoring the scrappy second goal, then beamed celebrating a job well done with the bench after she was substituted. That was the last appearance for the national team of Australia’s greatest goalscorer. Two months later she suffered a serious knee injury, and a long rehabilitation has left Kerr stranded on 69 goals. Continue reading...

Follow along for all the major moments as the Matildas return to AAMI Park to take on Taiwan.

The 2010 champions will play against either China or Taiwan at Optus Stadium on Tuesday.