Australia 5-0 New Zealand
By Kieran Yap 28/11/25
Above: Kyra Cooney-Cross celebrates her stunning goal. Photo: Football Australia
Five different goalscorers gave Australia a comprehensive victory against New Zealand as Joe Montemurro’s Asian Cup preparations began to hit stride. Amy Sayer and Hayley Raso set the tone with two first half goals, before Ellie Carpenter, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Katrina Gorry added more in the second.
Australia’s starting lineup was experienced but slightly different than what fans have been used to. Steph Catley partnered Winonah Heatley in the centre of defence. The duo’s passing ability and pace saw them preferred over Clare Hunt and in place of the suspended Alana Kennedy. Courtney Nevin got the nod at left back.
The midfield was made up of Gorry, Cooney-Cross and Emily van Egmond. The trio seemed to rotate positions , but nominally, van Egmond was the deepest, with Gorry in a more attacking role.
With Sam Kerr sidelined as a precaution following a rumored calf concern, Amy Sayer started on the left of the attack, with Caitlin Foord as the Nine and Raso in her familiar right flank position.
Australia began confidently and aggressively. Foord’s strength and vision released Raso, but her chipped effort was off target. The Matildas had the lead soon after when Gorry’s cleverly disguised pass found Sayer completely unmarked in the 18-yard box. She took her chance well to open the scoring.
Raso made amends for the earlier miss with a composed finish after being gifted possession by the New Zealand defence. She still had plenty to do and curled her effort in from the edge of the area.
New Zealand looked nervy in defence, and hesitant in midfield, but when they got the ball into attack, they posed a threat. Indiah- Paige Riley looked dangerous and creative on the right of a three-player attack.
Australia remained dominant in possession, but chances were harder to come by for the rest of the first half. Gorry’s pass into the box missed both attackers, while Carpener blazed over from close range and Sayer hit the woodwork.
Australia persisted, and in the second 45, they were rewarded.
It took until the 70’th minute but the floodgates eventually opened. Carpenter fired home following another defensive turnover, and almost immediately from the kickoff, Cooney-Cross replicated her Marta Award nominated effort against Germany to extend the lead to four.
The tireless and creative Gorry scored a much deserved goal in added time to make it five and even a missed penalty from captain Catley could not take the gloss off the result.
5-0 is a near perfect score and a much-needed confidence boost heading into the Asian Cup, but it was not a perfect performance.
Although Australia passed the ball well through midfield and found good combinations and executed some promising counter-attacks, the majority of goals still came through defensive calamities.
Often, the final pass was slightly misplaced or the cross was misdirected. Although they scored five, this could have been a much more emphatic scoreline. Australia look more solid with Catley at centre back, but her pinpoint crossing was sorely missed. It leaves Ellie Carpenter as the most dangerous crossing player in the team with Foord more likely to cut the ball back from the byline and Raso more dangerous when shooting.
Getting Nevin into overlapping crossing position could be something they seek to improve as they work in better delivery into the box.
These are minor issues, but ones that should be resolved by the time the tournament arrives. This was still an overwhelmingly positive display from The Matildas. The starters justified their places and the substitutes made an impact with Wheeler helping set up the final goal and Holly McNamara earning the penalty.
They have one match left before the Asian Cup when they take on New Zealand again on Tuesday night. Excitement is already building around the tournament, and it has seemingly returned to this squad again.
Teams: Australia (4-3-3): Arnold, Nevin, Heatley, Catley, Foord, Van Egmond, Raso, Sayer, Gorry, Carpenter, Cooney-Cross. Substitutes: Hunt, Wheeler, Torpey, Micah, Yallop, Lincoln, Kerr, Rule, McNamara, Siemsen, Johnson, Heyman.
Scorers: Sayer 13′ Raso 24′ Carpenter 70′ Cooney-Cross 71′ Gorry 92′
New Zealand (4-3-3): Leat, Taylor, Bott, Longo, Anton, Riley, Hahn, Foster, Kitching, Brown, Jackson. Substitutes: Essen, Santos, Bunge, Chance, Clegg, Green, Hassett, Moore, Pijenburg, Rennie, Wall, Wisnewski.
Referee: Yujeong Kim
Attendance: 20.619 at Polytec Stadium
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