Matildas coach Joe Montemurro has defended his players’ inability to find the back of the net in a humbling 1-0 loss to Mexico in Newcastle on Saturday night, saying the team still played some of their best soccer since he took over a year ago.
Mexico, ranked world no.27, produced an upset over the world no.15 Australian side and the visitors’ bench proved the difference in the final stretch, with impact sub Diana Ordonez breaking the 0-0 deadlock and slipping a ball past Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold to score in the 92nd minute.
Despite showing early dominance in the match, the Matildas had few chances on goal and Montemurro’s verdict on why his team lost to Mexico was simple.
“We didn’t score goals,” Montemurro said. “The attacking third, I’ve said it many, many times, it’s so difficult to coach because it’s feeling … it’s the pressure on the ball, it’s the pass, it’s the decision, it’s the run.
“There’s many, many things that happen in those areas there and the decisions were wrong. It’s as simple as that. And let’s be honest, we’ve got world-class players that do it quite often. Tonight they were human beings and it didn’t happen.
“Let’s just be clear on that – they’re allowed to make mistakes and these are the good times now, the perfect opportunities to make these mistakes so we can fix them. But fixing the attacking third is always very, very difficult.”
Star striker Sam Kerr had a frustrating night with limited opportunities, taking three of the Matildas’ four shots on goal.
The Matildas’ scoring rate under former coach Tony Gustavsson was 2.4 goals per game, with 141 goals in 59 matches. Under Joe Montemurro, this rate is only slightly lower at 2 goals per game with 35 in 17 matches.
Blow out wins against lowly ranked opponents can cloud the statistical picture somewhat, but the Matildas’ struggle to score against Mexico on Saturday wasn’t the first time they’ve lacked clinical finishing this year.
Stats show the Matildas have scored 19 goals in nine matches in 2026, at 2.11 goals per match but that includes big hauls against lowly-ranked opponents Iran (4-0) and Malawi (5-0), and a scratchy 2-0 win over world no.128 Kenya.
The Matildas also relied on a midfielder, Alanna Kennedy, to score almost half their goals at Asian Cup. She banged in five of the Matildas’ 12 goals at the tournament.
And having missed out on topping their group in the Asian Cup earlier this year on goal difference, it’s an issue Montemurro will want to solve.
“We’re getting there with good football, that’s the most important thing, and that’s where we need to make sure that direction goes,” he said.
Australia dominance of the game in the first 15 minutes of the match, in which they mostly held the ball, delighted Montemurro, whose goal is to turn the Matildas into a possession-based, high-pressing team.
“It’s some of the best football we’ve played in a long, long time and it was good because it’s real evidence of what we’re trying to do,” Montemurro said. “We’re trying to dominate games a lot higher. It’s not in our DNA. We have to still progress and learn that.”
Centre back Wini Heatley, one younger player getting valuable minutes in replacing injured veteran Clare Hunt, said the chance to adapt to Montemurro’s style is hugely valuable.
“I think there’s no perfect end goal. But I think that we’re getting closer and you learn a lot more from a loss than you do from a win,” she said.
“So hopefully, the result in the game today will help us take some more steps forward. If I look at the past year or so that Joe’s been the coach, we’ve been playing much better football and I’ve been able to see the actual strengths of each player being optimised more.”
The Matildas will play a second friendly against Mexico on Tuesday in Sydney, with each match a crucial practice run against a Central American side ahead of the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year.
Mexico’s coach Pedro Lopez was grateful for his players’ ability to convert their late chance.
“We scored after three players from the bench touched the ball and one of them scored,” Lopez said.
“We have a pretty good game between very good players and then little details gave us the victory today.”
