Football Australia has aimed to put one long-running saga to bed with its decision not to sanction captain Sam Kerr for a drunken night out, but a dark cloud still hovers over the future of the national women’s side.
The Matildas have less than a year and five international windows remaining before hosting the 2026 Asian Cup and time is running out to hand a new head coach enough runway to properly prepare the squad for a shot at winning the tournament.
Interim head coach Tom Sermanni will take charge of the Matildas in a pair of friendlies against South Korea starting in Sydney on Friday with no indication that FA is any closer to naming a permanent successor to Tony Gustavsson.
FA could have had their next coach within their grasp when Joe Montemurro was out of contract leading into the Matildas’ dismal Paris Olympics campaign, before the 55-year-old Australian joined French club side Lyon.
Montemurro has previously led women’s teams at Arsenal and Juventus and is seen to be among the frontrunners to take over as the next Matildas’ head coach despite still being under contract with the women’s football powerhouse.
Sermanni said that he would be quick to back Montemurro if FA was to appoint him as coach, though added that there has been no talk of a handover or succession plan.
“Joe is an outstanding coach,” Sermanni said. “The reason I’ve got to be careful with what I say is that I don’t want anything to be misconstrued. That’s somebody else’s decision.
“The board, or whoever, are dealing with who’s going to come in and replace me. [But] you just need to look at Joe’s CV and he’s an Aussie, so he’s got great credentials for the job. Whatever way FA go, that’s a decision that I’ll fully support.”
It has been more than eight months since Gustavsson departed as Matildas coach with FA saying it would search across the globe for a replacement, though Western United men’s coach John Aloisi is among the latest to be linked with the job.
The Matildas will be forced to give opportunities to more emerging and fringe players against South Korea after Ellie Carpenter and Hayley Raso joined midfielder Katrina Gorry in withdrawing from the squad due to injury.
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold is also unlikely to take part in the friendlies after injuring an arm in training.
The absence of four experienced internationals will leave the likes of Caitlin Foord and Mary Fowler to lead the attack, with Alanna Kennedy joining captain Steph Catley in defence.
Kennedy insisted that the uncertainty over who will lead the Matildas into the Asian Cup on home soil when it begins next March is not disrupting the team as they look to turn around a concerning stretch of results.
“We kind of just have to show up every time and roll with what’s happening,” Kennedy said. “We want a coach that has a winning mentality, we want to win games, obviously experience in the women’s game or at a high level as well.
“But we’re really just focused on becoming the Matildas that everyone fell in love with and everyone loves to watch, being that version of ourselves again.”
The Matildas have received a boost with Kerr joining the squad for the first time since rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament while training with Chelsea in December 2023.
The star striker will not take the field against South Korea as she continues to recover from her serious knee injury, while Sermanni said that he “absolutely” supported FA’s decision not to sanction Kerr for a night during which she verbally abused a London police officer.
Kerr can now target a return to international football in friendlies against Argentina in late May and early June, when club seasons will have wrapped up in Australia and Europe and FA will have at least one fewer reason to delay its decision on the next Matildas coach.
“It’s been really fantastic to have her back in the playing group, both for the players and for the staff, and I think for Sam as well,” Sermanni said. “If you’re an athlete, and particularly a team athlete, and you’re out for 16 months, dealing with injuries, it’s brutal.”
