Matildas ready for next SheBelieves Cup clash after raw player meeting after Japan loss

A players-only honesty session in the wake of their humiliating 4-0 loss to Japan has the Matildas primed for their key SheBelieves Cup clash against the US in Glendale, Arizona on Monday.

Matildas interim coach Tom Sermanni hopes his players’ raw soul-searching in the immediate aftermath of their “un-Australian” SheBelieves Cup opener will have them primed to rebound against the US.

Australia’s performance in its 4-0 loss to Japan in the tournament opener was widely pilloried, with the team’s defence, in particular, sub par.

While Sermanni and his staff had their own debrief with the team, the players gathered separately following the match for an honesty session that the coach hopes will have allowed them to put the performance behind them and move into Monday’s clash with the US in Arizona.

Head coach of Australia Tom Sermanni reacts against Japan in the first half during the 2025 SheBelieves Cup. Picture: Getty Images

“We (the coaching staff) weren’t there – and that’s important. It’s important for players to get together and work some things out themselves,” Sermanni said.

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily hard truth. It’s just everybody looking at themselves and looking around the team and being able to face a performance honestly and look at themselves.

“As a coach, you look at yourself after a game – have you selected things correctly, have you put out the right tactics, etc, etc.

“So we hope that when the players get in a room together, they’re honest enough to look at themselves and to look at what they want to do as a team and to regroup.”

Sermanni confirmed he would make changes to the side to face the US, including to the starting line-up but not just in response to the performance against Japan.

“Coaches often talk about wholesale changes but when you actually look at it, nobody actually makes wholesale changes,” he said.

Holly McNamara is among players who could get more of a run for the Matildas against the US after being subbed into the clash against Japan in Houston. Picture: Getty Images

“But we’re … definitely changing the (starting) line-up and bringing a few different players in.

“One of the key things here is for us to try and give game time to players – and it’s important, when you’re when you’re doing that, that you start players as well so that you put them in that environment straight away.”

The six players subbed in against Japan are among the most likely to earn a start but the Matildas have plenty of work to do to fix the at-times comical defence and stilted midfield play that resulted in the team hardly getting a shot off at their opponents.

One player that will be there is Mary Fowler, although Sermanni conceded he is still struggling to work out how to ensure the “outstanding talent” is able to impact the game – something she was unable to do playing behind Caitlin Foord against Japan.

Mary Fowler has been called to inject herself into the game more. Picture: AFP

“I’m still trying to work out myself where the best position is for Mary,” Sermanni said.

“I think she’s much better in an advanced role, in some capacity and it’s us having the ability to get her – and herself to get herself – in the game a little bit more.

“If you look at the game the other night, we never really had a foothold in the game to be able to do that.

“So the first and foremost thing we need to do is to actually get in the game itself, and then … she’s the kind of player that can really produce that extra special pass or that little bit of magic that either creates a goal or scores a goal for us.”

Originally published as Matildas ready for next SheBelieves Cup clash after raw player meeting after Japan loss