Australia 0-1 Panama
by Ben Gilby (5/7/25)
Above: Australia goalkeeper Teagan Micah makes a dramatic save in today’s game with Panama in Bunbury. Photo: Rob Lizzi for Impetus.
World number 56 Panama earned the greatest result in their history with this victory over a much-changed Australia side, who included four debutants, on a chilly, wet winter’s afternoon in Bunbury.
Matildas head coach Joe Montemurro made 10 changes to his starting line-up from Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Slovenia in Perth, with only Kaitlyn Torpey retaining her place. This was due to a combination of some players heading back to club football or managing their minutes.
There was an action-packed opening to this encounter as Holly McNamara escaped down the left to play a dangerous ball into the box. Yenith Bailey in goal for Panama, collided with her own defender Hilary Jaén, and looked to hyper-extend her knee as she fell to the ground under friendly fire. She had to be stretchered off in what was a sickening start. Farissa Cordoba came on in her place.
Whilst Australia had the vast majority of possession in the first half, it was Panama who largely dictated what took place. The Central American side employed an extremely physical ultra-high press and closed down space, not just for any Matildas on the ball, but also managed to largely cut off options for potential passes.
Australia has, historically, had major challenges in overcoming this sort of tactic being employed against them, and it would be the case once more in Bunbury. Panama were making this a highly transitional game, and that was far from the sort of encounter the Matildas wanted.
Key Australia midfield creators Hayley Raso and Alex Chidiac were therefore having minimal time with the ball to drive passes between defenders to set up offensive opportunities.
Arguably the most impressive player of the half was Panama’s 25-year-old attacker, Riley Tanner, who plies her trade in the USL Super League with Spokanne Zephyr. She was involved with all the Central American side’s best opportunities and linked up excellently with Marta Cox and Deysire Salazar.
With 21 minutes played, she was denied in the box by an excellent sliding block from Tash Prior after Cox played her in. Before the interval, Tanner beat Torpey along the right and advanced to the edge of the six-yard box to fire in a powerful shot that came off the angle of post and bar. She would also supply the cross that found Ericka Arauz to hit a cracking volley on the turn.
The Matildas did have their chances, and just after the half-hour mark, McNamara beat Carina Baltrip-Reyes along the right to supply another dangerous ball for Gielnik, but the striker couldn’t quite sort her feet out, and the opportunity went.
Australia had two further sights of goal on either side of stoppage time in the half. First, Jamilla Rankin pulled a high ball in from the left. Chloe Berryhill got in ahead of Baltrip-Reyes and saw her effort deflect narrowly wide at the near post.
In a bid to beat the Panama press, the Matildas looked to mix it up and go long, and four minutes into stoppage time, Gielnik was played in and saw a shot go wide of the right-hand post.
There was another injury-related blow for the visitors shortly into the second half, as they lost key offensive weapon Salazar. Australia would also feel the consequences of the physical battle as Micah collided with Panama attacker Ana Ggabriela Quintero.
Just two minutes after the latter incident, the Central Americans took the lead when Cox saw her shot repelled by Micah, only for it to fall for Sherline King to turn home on the half-volley with the Matildas’ defence slow to react.
Australia looked to respond instantly and put together their best passing move of the match as Raso found Berryhill in the box, who played a lovely instant pass for Chidiac to hit a shot from close range that Jaén cleared off the line. Shortly after this, Micah left the field to be replaced by Chloe Lincoln.
This was just one of a raft of changes from Montemurro as he emptied the bench in a bid to both get back into the game and run his eye over potential Asia Cup squad members. It led to debuts for Adriana Taranto, Jacynta Galabadaarachi, Alexia Apostolakis, and Grace Kuilamu.
Whilst the tactics employed by Panama were not ideal for the new quartet to shine, they each produced moments of promise.
With 11 minutes of regulation remaining, Galabadaarachi threaded a lovely ball through for Taranto to hit a shot that Cordoba saved. Then, deep into stoppage time, Kuilamu crossed in from the right for Apostolakis to hit an effort that Cordoba repelled brilliantly. The rebound fell perfectly for Heyman, but due to a combination of the rapid ball movement and slightly leaning back, the Canberra United icon put the ball over the top from close range.
They say that a head coach learns far more in defeat than in victory. That will certainly be the case for Montemurro after this frustrating afternoon in Bunbury.
Panama won the tactical battle and posed a puzzle that the Matildas just couldn’t solve with the physicality and extreme high-press that they kept going throughout. Games against opponents such as the Central Americans are the ones where players need to look for something that little bit different, something out of the box. Montemurro will have discovered just which of this group of players could offer that.
Australia’s potential Asian Cup opponents will watch this game back carefully as, particularly in the group stages, they will look to adopt similar tactics to those deployed by Panama. The Matildas now have eight months to overcome such game plans.
Check out our Instagram page @ImpetusFootball for more of Rob Lizzi’s exclusive images from the game.
Teams: AUSTRALIA (4-2-3-1): Micah, Torpey, Prior, Nevin, Rankin, Chidiac, Berryhill, Raso, Murphy, McNamara, Gielnik. Substitutes used: Heyman (for Raso 63′), Taranto (for Berryhill 63′), Lincoln (for Micah 63′), van Egmond (for Chidiac 77′), Galabadaarachi (for Gielnik 77′), Apostolakis (for Torpey 86′), Kuilamu (for McNamara 88′).
PANAMA:(4-1-4-1): Bailey, Castillo, Natis, Baltrip-Reyes, Jaén, Salazar, González, Arauz, Cox, Tanner, Quintero. Substitutes used: Cordoba (for Bailey 6’), King (for Salazar 52′), Espinosa (for Natis 79′), Parris (for Jaén 79), Hernandez (for Arauz 79′), Camarena (for Quintero 79′), Montenegro (for Cox 89′).
Scorers: King 67′.
Referee: Anne Marie Keighley (NZL).
Attendance: 10,272.
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