‘I need to do better’: Devastated Matildas rue Asian Cup missed opportunity

Caitlin Foord was in her own personal torture chamber: red-eyed, voice cracking, yet still fronting up to a broadcast interview straight after the full-time whistle on Saturday night.

“We had such an amazing opportunity to be able to do something really special here,” Foord told Paramount+ shortly after the Matildas’ narrow loss to Japan. “I take a lot of responsibility. I had three really, really big chances, and I need to do better there, so it definitely hurts.

“We created a lot. We were on top, and I think that’s the best we’ve ever played against Japan. I don’t think there are many games where we’ve dominated them in areas like we did tonight, and it was just the end product that wasn’t there.”

The toughest pill to swallow from an Asian Cup final such as this was the discrepancy between the performance and the result. The most persuasive from the Matildas in some time ended in a 1-0 loss to Japan.

Had Australia not matched the might of the world No.5 team in almost every department, had they conceded more goals and not come so close to scoring several of their own, the devastation might have been lessened.

But Foord’s face told the story even before she started speaking. And as one of the national team’s most consistent performers for more than a decade acknowledged her finishing skills were uncharacteristically absent, it was clear the weight of that burden will remain with the Arsenal winger for some time.

But it was not just Foord. Sam Kerr had an off night in front of goal and Alanna Kennedy just missed a late chance that could have sent the match to extra time. The entire team was feeling the defeat with a poignancy reserved for a high-performing generation nearing the end of their international careers without a trophy.

Ellie Carpenter was a picture of “exhaustion and devastation”.

“I think it just came down to that final execution,” Carpenter said. “Fatigue plays a role in this tournament, with rotation and all that. It’s going to hurt for a while because I just don’t think we deserve this loss.”

An emotional Kennedy could not even appreciate being named player of the tournament. That remarkable winner from Maika Hamano had sucked the air from every other achievement.

“Not really,” Kennedy said. “I feel pretty disappointed, and just kind of sad that we didn’t get the job done. It was obviously a tough night for us, but we’re really proud of the performance that we put in.

“What probably sucks the most is that early goal, and then we were chasing the game a little bit. I felt like we had opportunities – good opportunities. Maybe if we had a little bit more time we could have got there.”

They did not, and going on three years after their 2023 World Cup semi-final loss to England, the Matildas again left Accor Stadium with a sense of what could have been. Sixteen years without silverware will soon be 17, and Joe Montemurro’s squad must now turn the focus to next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

“It has been a really fun tournament for us as a group,” Kennedy said. “We just said in our post-match chat that the togetherness and the vibe around the team has felt really nice and really special.

“Hopefully, that can continue under Joe over the next year and into the World Cup. The more time you have under someone, the better, and I definitely feel that with this squad and the coaching staff that we have at the moment.”