At the end of last week, Matildas head coach Joe Montemurro named twenty-six players who would, in an ideal world, lead us to glory at the Women's Asian Cup on home soil, which gets underway in just under a week from now. Doing so would finally secure an elusive major tournament trophy for the golden generation of Australian women's national football team representatives who, on multiple occasions, have come close yet so far. Most notably, the home World Cup in 2023 in which the Matildas were knocked out by England in the semi-final.

However, with the announcement came the harsh reality of the state we find ourselves in, and the realisation that the Tillies selection policy is flawed. The release of the final 26-player list for the culmination of this latest major tournament cycle only serves to reiterate this idea. Much of the old guard, including Alanna Kennedy and Emily van Egmond -both of whom are clearly past their prime and starting to regress- were retained from the disastrous Paris 2024 Olympics cycle where the Matildas finished third in their group, avoiding a winless campaign with a come-from-behind 6-5 win over minnows Zambia. Michelle Heyman scored at the death to secure a much-needed three points and salvage what little hope was left from an otherwise ignominious major tournament.


More recently, however, our lack of depth was exposed during the last two international windows of 2025. Another drubbing at the hands of the two-time reigning European champions England in late October that saw Alanna Kennedy sent off, in a 3-0 loss. In December, during our last game of the year against New Zealand, the lack of depth plaguing the Matildas was again exposed. This will unfortunately continue to be the case throughout the course of the Women's Asian Cup and beyond unless things change and we move away from the status quo.

So what's the problem?

Many long-time readers of this forum will no doubt be aware that I have, for the most part, always been critical of the selection policy implemented by the Australian women's national football team, and this view remains unchanged. When Fan View was in its infancy way back when in July 2025, the first article to grace Green & Gold FC with its presence was a treatise lamenting the continued inclusion of Emily van Egmond in Matildas squads. Having been on the Tillies bandwagon since the April 2023 international window, I have managed to witness first-hand the stagnation of the selection policy across the tenures of our three most recent head coaches;Tony Gustavsson, Tom Sermanni (albeit on an interim basis) and now Montemurro. A phenomenon which largely comes down to the retention of the tried-and-true formula of prioritising experience over youth.

Indeed, much of the general consensus, at least amongst forumites on the myriad of discussion threads on the Matildas board, is that we should be moving on from the same old players and turning towards fringe players or promoting those from the age grade sides. The reliance on the tried-and-true formula has led to the head coach perpetuating the shallowing of the national pool. Unfortunately, this has ultimately caused us to play catch-up with the high-flying European sides, in addition to continental heavyweights in Japan, South Korea, China and North Korea. Australia should be aiming to be contenders in major tournaments and challenging for silverware on the international stage.

Fringe players and the abundance of youth

The importance of fringe players in the Matildas setup, along with the abundance of youth prospects currently in the age grade sides, cannot be understated. With the news of shot-stopper Teagan Micah being ruled out with concussion a couple of days out from opening day against the Philippines in Western Australia, Brisbane Roar starting keeper Chloe Lincoln was forced to step in. This has elevated her to the second-string option between the sticks behind Mackenzie Arnold, despite only having three caps to her name. Personally, I feel that this lack of experience could cost us dearly especially given our over-reliance on Teagan Micah for the vast majority of international fixtures over the past year or so, coupled with the fact that at the time of writing, Chloe Lincoln leads the entire A-League Women in goals conceded for season 2025-26 with thirty-one. Having an over reliance on players leads to potential pitfalls should fringe players be required.

Another aspect which needs to be taken into consideration is the fact that inevitably and eventually, key players will end up retiring or have to be moved on. There is plenty of depth in certain positions already, namely defensively and in forward line. Despite this, continuing to favour stalwarts like Alanna Kennedy, fringe players like Jessika Nash -who has shown immense potential plying her trade in Italy as a regular starter for Sassuolo- are denied the opportunity to pull on the green and gold jersey. Likewise, Canberra United skipper Michelle Heyman, a fundamental part of the Matildas setup throughout the past two major tournament cycles, at some point in the future, going to call time on her storied international career.

Further to that point, her form in the A-League Women in recent times has been somewhat inconsistent, to say the least. Across the span of five straight matchdays between mid-December and late January, she blanked in score involvements before finally registering an assist. Over the course of this season, she has only scored five goals through sixteen matchdays, a far cry from her Golden Boot-winning seventeen goal haul two seasons ago. In my opinion, I feel that form in club football is of equal, if not greater importance to international experience and should be taken into account when selecting players for Tillies squads, but even more so going into major tournament campaigns. This should, in theory, pave the way for bolsters like Annalise Rasmussen, Alana Jancevski, and Melbourne City starlet Shelby McMahon. All have been making waves domestically and in Asian continental competitions for club and country, to eventually be a part of the senior Matildas setup in the foreseeable future.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the significance of the Women's Asian Cup on home soil in a few days from now is not to be underestimated. First and foremost, the culmination of this latest major tournament cycle is pivotal in determining how the next three or so years pan out for the Matildas. Furthermore, it will be pivotal in deciding the direction of the round ball game in Australia for a number of reasons. One such reason is the fact that the manner in which our Women's Asian Cup campaign turns out will determine whether we qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil directly or via the inter-confederation playoffs. Failing to do so altogether, and it may well act as a stumbling block in our quest for an Olympic gold medal, given that this edition of the Asian showpiece tournament doubles as the penultimate stage of qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics. Something Australia will need to be comfortable with as it will continue to be the case going forward.

Overall, we are perfectly capable and of a high enough calibre to be going all the way, and the aim is, come March 21st, for us to be lifting the trophy at Stadium Australia in front of a raucous home crowd. However, by not fostering a culture of rejuvenation and revitalising the playing list, we risk falling short yet again and continuing to straggle behind global footballing juggernauts. With talk of that elusive trophy for the golden generation continuing to be nothing but a pipe dream, those sixteen years of hurt are growing ever longer.


Alarm bells should have been ringing with regards to the selection policy following our disastrous showings at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and during our SheBelieves Cup debut at the start of last year. Yet, lessons have not been learned and, dare I say it, warnings not heeded. If the proverbial were to hit the fan and things went pear-shaped -our campaign effectively done and dusted by the eighth day of March- then we would have squandered arguably our best shot at glory. Undoubtedly, questions shall be asked as to what went wrong, heads will roll with marching orders given, and at the end of the day, the inherent flaws present in the selection policy will be to blame.

Perhaps this will be the wake-up call that we need, and hopefully this time round, we will have seized the opportunity for change so that the Matildas progress in leaps and bounds. We can at last become a force to be reckoned with on the international stage, as opposed to retaining the status quo, keeping things as is and ultimately returning to the dark ages.