By Kieran Yap 15/10/26
Above: Holly McNamara & Leticia McKenna Photo: Football Australia
With The Matildas games against Germany and Haiti complete, we look at what we have learned from the two, pretty valuable freindlies.
Australia’s search for a 10 got more interesting and promising
Ther performances of Leticia Mckenna over the two matches and Daniela Galic’s appearance against Haiti have shown that The Matildas have a wealth of options in the playmaker role. Not only in terms of quality but in style.
It has been a position of much discussion in the national team, at different times in the last four years, Mary Fowler, Katrina Gorry, Emily van Egmond, Alex Chidiac and Kyra Cooney-Cross have been used in the space behind the forwards.
Of all those players, only really Chidiac plays in that position at club level, and van Egmond’s last truly convincing performance in the role was in 2020 in the Olympic qualifiers.
Mckenna and Galic are natural fits for the job and showed that they can be trusted with the keys to drive the midfield.
Galic has been in outstanding form for Visstjo GIK in the Damallsvenskan. She has seven goals and three assists for her club in 2026, with five of those strikes coming in the last seven games. Three of those have been headers, which despite her height, van Egmond rarely does.
Her goal against Haiti was extremely well taken, She displayed perfect technique and positioning and was both unrushed but quick to act. The fact that the pass was played to her by her Young Matildas midfield partner Alana Murphy makes the future all the more exciting.
It was not just that she scored. Galic looked confident, creative and displayed instant chemistry with her teammates. Her backheel pass to an overlapping Caitlin Foord was as delightful as the goal. She was able to link play and threaten the defence.
She has long been touted as the next big thing. Galic and the national team will benefit from more opportunities to show it.
Leticia Mckenna was an other revelation in this window. She was busy after coming on against Germany and deadly from the start against Haiti.
Mckenna scored twice, to bring her tally to three international goals in four matches and she was player of the match in the 7-1 win.
Most players need to adjust their game a little when faced with the increased speed and quality of international football. Not McKenna.
She looked just as comfortable as she did in two dominant seasons with Melbourne City and seemed to bask in the responsibility of being a starting Matilda.
McKenna looks like a combination of Tameka Yallop and Gorry (two players she spent a season with at Brisbane Roar five years ago). She is all-action, decisive and powerful, but also composed and patient with the ball. Her decision making is elite and she almost never looks rushed.
Mary Fowler’s inevitable return to the squad will cause a selection headache for Joe Montemurro, but he has three potentially World Class options all under the age of 25. All three bring something slightly different to the role there is probably a way to find a combination of them.
In any case Mckenna and Galic should find themselves higher in the pecking order after this window.
The defence is a slight worry
Australia’s defence was OK over the two games, but susceptible to individual errors and vulnerable to counter-attacks. That may be an acceptable risk for playing an attacking formation, with Clare Wheeler given license to push forward when in possession, but it is something that they will need to address for The World Cup.
Winonah Heatley and Steph Catley both looked rusty against Germany and McKenzie Arnold’s game against Germany contained moments of brilliance, but she also let some saveable shots slip by her.
Individual positioning by defenders was not the problem, but indecisiveness and small lacks in composure allowed the German’s in on goal. Set piece defending has been an issue for at least three successive coaches, and higher ranked teams can take advantage of that.
Healey needs to play more at Roma or look for another club before the World Cup. She is one of Australia’s most promising prospects, a prototypical modern defender but has only made one league appearance for her club so far this season.
The availability of Charlie Rule and the potential of Jess Nash at Melbourne City loom as options in defence. But Heatley remains the front runner to partner Steph Catley and hopefully she can rediscover her best form by Brazil.
Caitlin Foord is still an important player for Australia.
Foord has become somewhat of a scapegoat for Arsenal’s problems this season, and to be blunt, her season has not been great so far. But she always delivers for Australia, and while she may have visibly lost a yard of acceleration, she showed in both games that she has plenty of other attributes that will make her a lock for any squad.
One of Foord’s most consistent and eye catching attributes has been her quick chance of pace on the left. She slows, almost to a standstill in possession and shuffled the ball before skipping past her defender. It is one of her trademark moves.
Against top international defenders and it seems many European club sides, it look like she can no longer do this routinely at 31 years old. But she still brings plenty to an attack.
Foord remains excellent at holding off defenders, and rolling her body to turn into space. She did this to set up Holly McNamara’s goal against Germany and demonstrated it multiple times against Haiti.
She is also an excellent passer of the ball in the final third. The weight, timing and angles of her through balls can blindside defenders and set her teammates into space. Her off the ball movement is also excellent as shown when she peeled into space to cross in the lead up to Galic’s goal and her run to set up Sam Kerr to force a Haiti Own Goal.
Foord seems to have adjusted her game slightly, where she used to be able to burst through on her own, she now needs overlapping runners, but there are few players in the Australian setup capable of making space for others and finishing chances to the same level as her.
Foord may have come in for strong, often over the top criticism in 2026, but she is a player who consistently delivers in Green and Gold.
Holly Mcnamara can be depended on to take the reigns
Holly McNamara has been Australia’s next striking hope almost since she made her debut in the A-League Women in 2020. Since then she has won two Golden boots and won the last two premierships with Melbourne City. She also scored twice in last season’s Grand Final and secured a move to the WSL with Everton. It is quite the list for a player who is still 23 years old and has recovered from three ACL injuries.
Partially despite these achievements, and because of the obvious setbacks, McNamarma has sometimes struggled to make an impact with The Matildas. But against Haiti and particularly in the first game against Germany she added spark, and looked confident and dangerous.
McNamara has been in and out of the squad since 2022, but has often been played on the wing. Early on, this made sense. In her first season at City, she could often be found cutting in from the left even though she was part of a front two with Hannah Wilkinson.
As her career progressed, it became apparent that her best position was as the spearhead of the attack. When deployed where with City, she looked like a natural and obvious successor to the likes of Sam Kerr or Michelle Heyman. But with The Matildas she had to not only adjust to new teammates but a new position.
Against Germany, she was released into the centre of attack, and her movement was sharp as she hunted chances and kept the defence alert.
Her finish to score her fourth international goal was taken with the confidence of a player ready to step up. She looked free of the burden of learning to play international football and like someone who was born to do it.
Australia faces a potential lack of strikers after this upcoming World Cup. Foord will be 33, Kerr will be 34 and Hayley Raso will be 33 by Brazil.
There are prospects coming through. Annelise Rasmussen is getting game time in France, Kahli Johnson is progressing at Calgary Wild and the likes of Grace Kuilamu or Skye Halmarick might continue to develop. But so far McNamara is the most obvious front runner to start as the main striker. She looks like she is ready for it and should start at least one game against Colombia.
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