Raft of key players to return to Matildas in October after another win under new coach Joe Montemurro

As Sam Kerr ramped up her training, the Matildas ended a four-game stretch under new coach Joe Montemurro with a win and positive signs for the Asian Cup.

Matildas coach Joe Montemurro concedes he and his new players still have some “work to do” in order to peak for the Asian Cup but walked away from his first four matches in charge buoyed by what he has to work with.

Montemurro was particularly full of praise for the “character” of veteran striker Michelle Heyman, who scored twice in a 3-2 win over Panama in Perth on Tuesday night to close out the international window.

It took a late goal from Charli Grant to seal the win, a turnaround from an opening 1-0 loss to Panama on Saturday as Montemurro continued to experiment with the next generation of Matildas.

Hayley Raso and Michelle Heyman combine once again with the latter heading her 33rd goal in green and gold 🙌

🎥: @ParamountPlusAU#Matildas#AUSvPAN#WAtheDreamStatepic.twitter.com/SZJGDOyhlU

— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 8, 2025

Montemurro was missing most of his preferred line-up, with the likes of Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Katrina Gorry, Cortnee Vine and Clare Wheeler among those who didn’t play at all in the four games in Perth.

Ellie Carpenter was among some of the stars who left the series after two matches against Slovenia.

But all should be available for the next international window in October – Kerr trained with the Matildas in Perth as she steps closer to a playing return – before the final tune-ups for next year’s Asian Cup, being held in Australia, begin in November.

Having indoctrinated his players with a new playing style over the course of the last two weeks, Montemurro is confident he will have his side humming for the tournament.

“I’ve had less time to prepare teams for big tournaments,” Montemurro said.

“The good thing about it, we’re going to have a lot of players who are in season (for the next window), so they’re going to be at least physically – and from a rhythm perspective – in tune.

The Matildas line up in Perth. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

“That was the biggest thing over the last 20 days – you saw the players, the rhythms were up, down, everywhere.

“All of them had to be managed physically.

“We won’t have that problem (next time), so at least we can go forward with players that are ready to go.”

The only disappointment for Montemurro was a return to some old habits in the final game.

“Obviously, we’ve got some more work to do,” he said.

“We fell into the trap of wanting to rush the play when we needed to slow it down, and we fell into the trap of slowing it down when we needed to go quick.

“That caused a lot of technical errors because people weren’t in position at the right time.”

Michelle Heyman scored twice. Picture: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images

But Heyman was in the right spot twice, capitalising on crosses from Hayley Raso to score and earning high praise form the coach

“It’s an honour to work with an athlete with a character of this nature,” Montemurro said of Heyman.

“I’ve been honoured enough to have worked with some of the best strikers in the world — Ada Hegerberg, Vivianne Miedema — but this character that is Michelle Heyman, we should all be proud of.

“We should all be proud of who she is and what she’s contributed to football and to sport in general.”