There is a particular kind of anticipation that builds when a team feels genuinely ready. Not just confident, but prepared. Cohesive. Hungry. That is the feeling surrounding the Matildas as the 2026 Women's Asian Cup kicks off this Sunday, with Australia opening their campaign against the Philippines.
Since the euphoria of the 2023 World Cup, the national women's team has changed considerably. The faces are largely familiar, but the football is something different altogether. Under Melbourne-born coach Joe Montemurro, a man who rebuilt Lyon, Arsenal, and Juventus as forces in the women's club game, the Matildas are being asked to play with a freedom and aggression that few Australian national sides have ever attempted.
"We're going to be proactive. We want to be able to dictate what we do when we have the ball, but also control the opposition team when they have the ball," Montemurro told ABC Sport earlier this month. It is a simple enough statement, but it represents a genuine shift in philosophy from the more reactive, counter-attacking approaches of previous Matildas coaches.
The transition has not been without friction. There were ten months between Tony Gustavsson's departure and Montemurro's appointment, with Australian football legend Tom Sermanni stepping in as a caretaker. Players, more than once, hinted at frustration with how long the process was taking. Yet the end result, most observers agreed, was worth the wait.
Montemurro's system began to show genuine promise in a two-match series against New Zealand late last year, with Australia winning 7-0 on aggregate. Playing a fluid 4-3-3, the forwards were given licence to roam, the midfielders were tasked with recycling possession, and the press was high and relentless. The numbers tell part of the story. The football told rather more.
The Fowler Question
The most compelling subplot heading into the tournament is the return of Mary Fowler. Last April, the 23-year-old ruptured her ACL, an injury that typically requires twelve months to recover from. Remarkably, Fowler has beaten that timeline, returning to action for Manchester City three weeks ago and starting an FA Cup match last Sunday, playing 63 minutes in her first start in 315 days.
Getting the best out of Fowler has been a challenge for several Matildas coaches since she debuted at fifteen in 2018. She is most effective playing in the space behind a traditional striker, though she has been deployed across multiple attacking positions over the years. Montemurro, who has not yet been able to field a full-strength side including her, has kept his options open. "Mary could feature from the start, Mary could come on in the last 20 minutes, we'll just assess each game as it goes," he said at last week's squad announcement.
For the tournament opener, the more likely forward three is Sam Kerr, Hayley Raso, and Caitlin Foord. Kerr, the only surviving player from Australia's 2010 Asian Cup-winning squad, signed off her club duties with an FA Cup goal for Chelsea against Manchester United and arrives in form and motivated. Raso and Foord bring relentless width and the ability to create problems in behind any defensive line willing to sit deep.
The Engine Room and the Defensive Puzzle
In central midfield, Kyra Cooney-Cross is the player everyone is watching. Silky, powerful, with an eye for the spectacular, the 24-year-old Arsenal player has emerged as one of the Matildas' most important performers. Her recent months, though, have been deeply difficult. Cooney-Cross returned to Australia in January to be with her mother following a diagnosis of a rare and incurable cancer. She has not played club football since December, and whether she will be ready to start on Sunday remains uncertain. Her teammates, by all accounts, have rallied around her with the kind of solidarity that sport at its best makes possible.
If Cooney-Cross does start, veteran Katrina Gorry and Clare Wheeler are the likely engine room partners behind her, both tireless workers comfortable in tight spaces. Alanna Kennedy, a centre-back by trade but used as a defensive midfielder by Montemurro, could also feature in the deepest role.
In defence, the biggest question surrounds Steph Catley's role. The 141-cap veteran has shifted from left-back to centre-back in recent seasons, excelling in that position for Arsenal. If Montemurro opts to play her centrally, either Courtney Nevin or Kaitlyn Torpey would fill the left-back slot. Clare Hunt is likely to partner Catley or Kennedy at the back, while Ellie Carpenter's place at right-back is, as the source material rather perfectly puts it, not up for debate.
In goal, Mackenzie Arnold steps in as undisputed number one after Teagan Micah's late withdrawal. Arnold, one of the heroes of the penalty shootout against France at the 2023 World Cup, brings experience and composure the squad will lean on.
What This Moment Means
The Matildas are ranked third in Asia, not top. The tournament, played across several nations in the region, will feature sides that have improved considerably in the years since Australia last won this competition. South Korea, Japan, and China all present serious challenges. This is not a coronation tour.
Yet there is genuine reason for optimism. The squad has depth that previous Matildas generations could only dream of. Michelle Heyman, 37 years old and a true great of the Australian game, provides lethal experience from the bench alongside Melbourne City's Holly McNamara, who leads the A-League Women's scoring charts. The Football Australia programme has invested heavily in developing exactly this kind of depth, and the returns are showing.
Montemurro has had less than a year to instil his philosophy. Some of that time was consumed by Fowler's injury, Cooney-Cross's personal circumstances, and the general reality that elite international football allows precious little time for a coach to truly shape a squad in their image. The Asian Cup is, in many ways, the first genuine test of whether his ideas have taken hold.
Ask any Queenslander who followed the Matildas through those extraordinary 2023 nights and they will tell you: this group has earned the right to be taken seriously. Whether the system is ready, whether Fowler is fully fit, whether Cooney-Cross can draw on reserves of strength beyond football, those questions will be answered soon enough. Sunday's opening whistle against the Philippines is where the answers begin.