By Alyce Collett 27/5/25
Above: Emily Van Egmond. Photo: Football Australia
It is another huge week for the Matildas as they get set to take on Argentina in a pair of matches over the next seven days. Speaking to the media in Melbourne this morning, veteran midfielder Emily van Egmond alluded to some of the differences greeting her and her team mates this window.
The Matildas’ midfield is set to look very different this window, with no Katrina Gorry and likely limited time for Kyra Cooney-Cross.
“I think whoever gets the opportunity to play in there, it’s about dictating the ball and being a presence in there. We want to dominate games,” van Egmond explained.
“If you look at how we went against the opposition at She Believes Cup, we didn’t have our best performances. And then coming back here to perform against South Korea and have some dominant displays there, I think it shows that we’re kind of on the right track.
“We’ve still got a bit of time before the preparation, which will be good. But however the coach wants us to play, we’ll obviously try to do that to the best of our ability always.”
The midfield will not be the only section of the park that will look a bit different this window, with Mary Fowler having gone down with an ACL injury since the last window.
“It’s obviously sad for Mary with the injury that she sustained. We’re all behind her hoping that she has a good and a speedy recovery and gets back as soon as she can. But the most important thing is obviously her health and making sure that she takes care of that knee,” van Egmond reiterated.
“It’s part of football being a professional athlete and as one door maybe closes for a little bit, it’s a good opportunity for someone else to come in and experience the Matildas.”
Although it has been a while since the Matildas have faced La Albiceleste, but van Egmond has a clear idea what to expect from the Argentinians this window.
”I think if you look at their last round of international friendlies against Canada, they obviously, um, they beat them one nil, so they’re going to be a tough opponent for us, a good challenge and one that are very excited to play,” van Egmond said.
Van Egmond is also expecting the matches against the Argentinians to “be a physical game again, probably not too dissimilar to Brazil. They’re quite street savvy, so yeah it’s a good opportunity for us. Two other friendlies to get under our belt before the Asian Cup and to play against an opposition is always nice.”
It has already been a big week for Australian women’s football, with a trio of Aussies – Cooney-Cross, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord – winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Arsenal over the weekend.
“They’ve worked so hard and I’m just really happy for the girls to be able to experience that,” van Egmond said.
“Not a lot of people in their careers would even get to play Champions League, so to be able to come out and say that you’re a winner is amazing. I think I read a stat that there’s only been seven winners in Australian football history, so to be a part of that is awesome, and obviously Ellie’s won it before as well, so to have four girls flying the flag there is unbelievable.”
It is also a big week for interim Matildas coach Tom Sermanni, who notches up his 150th match in charge of the side this window.
“I think Tommy’s obviously been around it feels like almost forever. They obviously won in 2010, the Asian Cup, which was a massive achievement. He’s blooded through a lot of the girls now that are in the squad, including myself,” van Egmond acknowledged.
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