Australia 1-2 Colombia
Above: Hayley Raso celebrates her goal. Photo: Football Australia
Australia has ended the 2025 SheBelieves Cup winless, after going down to Colombia two goals to one in their final match of the tournament.
Although it was a better performance from the Matildas and they looked more like the Matildas side of old, it was not enough as goals to Wendy Bonilla and Catolina Usmeultimately saw the Colombians get over the line. Hayley Raso did score a stellar equaliser halfway through the second half, but it was cancelled out minutes later in heat breaking fashion.
It was an energetic start to the match for both sides, with plenty of chances in front of goal.
From an Australian perspective, Kyra Cooney-Cross was playing a higher role than she normally does which was proving a successful decision, while Emily van Egmond and Tameka Yallop both had shots that went agonisingly wide.
Meanwhile Myra Ramirez and Linda Caicedo were unsurprisingly both proving very dangerous options for Colombia, with Caicedo in particular sneaking past the Australian defence on a number of occasions.
However Colombia’s chances were looking more dangerous than Australia’s, and were rewarded in the 15th minute when Ramirez executed the perfect switch and found Bonilla open on the other side of the field, who then rocketed a shot past Tegan Micah and straight into the back of the net.
The Australians were spending a lot more time in their attacking final third then they have in other matches this tournament but like those other matches, getting shots away and especially on target continued to be a problem the Australians could not fix.
Although Bonilla’s goal was ultimately the only one in the first half and the Matildas had been less blown off the park than they did in the first too matches, there was still some serious concerns for the Matildas to fix before the second half.
The evenness of the half time stats accurately reflected what had been happening out on the field.
Colombia only had about 8% more of the possession and only one more shot on goal than the Matildas, but Colombia finished the half with the two shots on target, while Australia did not record any.
Proceedings were free flowing early in the second half, with both sides having an even amount of time in attack. Up one end it was Raso looking the most dangerous while up the other end Bonilla was continuing to cause plenty of headaches for the Matildas’ defenders.
Raso was eventually able to work herself into a more central position and was rewarded after she danced around a number of defenders and slotted through the equaliser in the 69th minute. It may have taken a deflection on the way through, but it was still just reward for the hardworking Raso.
Heartbreakingly, not even five minutes later Colombia took the lead back after a long bomb from Usme deflected off the back of a Matildas defender and over the head of Micah.
Despite what the scoreline was showing, it was a more competitive effort from the Matildas. The defence was looking more solid and confident than it had all tournament, and the side’s attacking play was looking more threatening.
The Matildas kept peppering the Colombian goal but no matter how hard they tried that second equalising goal remained elusive, and as such the Matildas ended the tournament with a third straight loss.
Teams: AUSTRALIA (4-2-3-1): Micah, Heyman, Hunt,Catley, Van Egmond, Yallop, Raso, Gorry, Carpenter, Grant, Cooney-Cross. Substitutes: Arnold, Murphy, Fowler,McNamara, Heatley, Torpey, Kennedy, Lincoln, Prior, Foord,Galic, Freier.
Scorers: Raso 69’
COLOMBIA (4-2-3-1): Giraldo, Guzman, Caracas, Alvarez, Quejada, Martinez, Usme, Santos, Bonilla, Caicedo, Ramirez. Substitutes: Agudelo, Tapia, Arias, Baron, Arias, Montoya, Restrepo, Reyes, Pavi, Torres, Chacon.
Scorers: Bonilla 15’, Usme 73’
Referee: Katja Koroleva (USA)
Attendance: 10,072.
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