Not every Australian is rooting for a Matildas redemption at the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup on home soil next month.
Japan’s assistant coach and former Matilda Leah Blayney is one of them. She will use the knowledge she’s gained from her time with the Australian side to help Japan, regardless of any loyalties she may feel toward her home nation and the country she represented for six years.
Leah Blayney in her previous role as Australia coach at the under-20 Women’s World Cup in 2024.Credit: FIFA via Getty Images
For while Japan are tournament favourites heading into the Asian Cup – they’re the highest-ranked team in the competition at ninth in the world, the only team to have won a World Cup, and won two of the last three Asian Cups – they’ve had more quarter-final losses than finals appearances at major tournaments in the last five years.
The Matildas meanwhile are searching for Asian Cup glory at home after their fourth-place finish at the World Cup in Australia three years ago.
Japan have the technical ability to beat any team, but there’s one area their coaching staff have fixated on that could be the difference between their return to global dominance and Australia achieving home-soil glory. It’s also one thing the Matildas have in abundance, and which Japan will need: ruthlessness.
“Tournament football is a funny thing. One chaotic moment, one player who takes their opportunity at the right time, can win you a tournament,” Blayney said from England. “We’re certainly very comfortable with where we are at, but we also look forward to some of our players, at different times, stepping up and having that ruthlessness about them in and around the box.”
If Japan are looking for on-field ferocity, and want to scalp it from the Matildas who are known to be a combatant, highly physical team – especially when playing equally aggressive rivals such as the US, England or Ireland – they’ve found the right mentor in Blayney.
After a five-year tenure as head coach of the Young Matildas (under-20s), Blayney was appointed assistant coach of Japan in January 2025. In that time, she said there has been a greater emphasis on improving the team’s mindset and changing camp culture within the squad. After all, the Japanese players are known for being kind and respectful, for tidying their changing rooms after matches at the World Cup and still leaving a note of thanks to staff.
“There’s many reasons that go into teams winning tournament football,” Blayney said. “In terms of the Japan squad, obviously we’re focused on the last 12 months that we’ve been with the group, we feel as though we’ve added another layer of cohesion to Japan’s play, some external, foreign influence around it [and] a few things in and around the camp environment, we think are going to help us progress further in tournament football …
“I think definitely improving that mentality is something that’s been a target for us. Our players are extremely respectful, but they also do have a very high existing level of competitiveness. It’s just bringing that out in key moments throughout tournaments. It’s that ruthlessness that we’ll be looking to see more of.
“We know we have a good core group. But this tournament is about Japan putting that together and being ruthless in key moments and then walking away, hopefully with a trophy.”
Even if it requires using the knowledge she’s learnt from the Matildas to reach that goal.
“I hold Australia very close to my heart. However, obviously, we have a target. I have a job to do with Japan. So any previous experiences or knowledge, of course we’re going to be bringing to this tournament.”
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