Matildas face injury crisis on eve of Women's Asian Cup opener against Philippines | OneFootball

The Matildas face a goalkeeper crisis on the eve of the Women’s Asian Cup after coach Joe Montemurro refused to confirm who will be in his final squad – let alone who will start in goal – 24 hours before the tournament opener against the Philippines on Sunday.

Veteran Mackenzie Arnold was expected to don the gloves after Lyon’s Teagan Micah withdrew from the squad with concussion issues last week, but the 32-year-old has not trained fully with her teammates during their preparations in Perth.

Montemurro was asked directly on Saturday who would be playing in goal. “There’s no decisions made yet for anyone playing, so I’m still deciding what my starting 11 is going to be,” he said. “We’ve got it in control with our medical staff and we’ll make some decisions in the next 24 hours.”

Arnold, one of the heroes of the 2023 World Cup, featured in media engagements this week, but she has trained only lightly alongside fellow keepers Jada Whyman – who is yet to play for the Matildas – and Chloe Lincoln, who has just three caps. Morgan Aquino, another uncapped keeper, has been training with the squad but is not among the 26 players named for the Asian Cup.

The cloud hanging over Arnold is the most significant of a range of health concerns for the squadas Montemurro bemoaned the challenging lead-in. “We’ve had to manage a lot of the returns because of the nature of the tournament and a lot of players playing on the weekend,” he said. “All of them are on individual scenarios to get right and we’re monitoring it,” he said.

Kyra Cooney-Cross has also had a disrupted preparation after returning to Australia from Europe in January to spend time with her mother, who has incurable bile duct cancer. Montemurro said the midfielder’s absence from training on Saturday was “all precaution” and the staff were thinking ahead. “We’re really going to take the opportunities to make sure that players are ready at the right time to be part of the group, but she’s travelling well.”

Captain Sam Kerr admitted she is still short of feeling 100% as part of her long recovery from a knee injury suffered in January 2024. “I’m probably about 85 [%] and above, I don’t want to say I’m at 100 [%] yet, I haven’t had one of those games yet where I felt completely myself,” she said.

Forward Mary Fowler is another who is recovering from a knee injury. The star attacker said this week she feels “really good” after she started her first match for Manchester City on the weekend after recovering from a serious knee injury last April.

Philippines coach Mark Torcaso, an Australian who has coached in the A-League Women, said Sunday’s match against the Matildas would be a special occasion, and they would not shy away from the challenge. “We’re just going to be there and be annoying and constantly be pushing, and I know that the girls will fight,” he said.

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