Sam Kerr Joe Montemurro FULL Press Conference CommBank Matildas v Philippines Asian Cup 2026

Good. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the Pemex Press Conference on behalf of the Asian Football Confederation. Welcome to the Pemex Press Conference for the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2016 in the States, the match between Australia and Philippines. So I have with me here Mr. John Montemurro, Head Coach of the Australia and player number 20, Ms. Sam Kerr. So firstly, I would like to have a brief comment for our upcoming tournament and small smudge from both of them. Thank you. Thank you. What an occasion. Obviously, we dream of these occasions in our sport. We're looking forward to an amazing tournament. I think there's going to be some special memories made and we want to thank everyone for the opportunity. Obviously, we're very proud to be hosting the tournament and what's going to be, I think, a fantastic journey. Thank you. How about you? Yeah, just really excited to get going and play some football and yeah, just excited for the tournament to start. Thank you. So I will open the floor for questions. If you have any questions, please raise your hand. Can you go to that? Who is starting in goal for you tomorrow? And when the deadline comes this afternoon, which three keepers will be in your squad? We've had to manage a lot of the returns because of the nature of the tournament and a lot of players playing on the weekend or being involved on the weekend. So all of them are on individual scenarios to get right and we're monitoring it and we've got control of our medical staff and we'll make some decisions in the next 24 hours. There's no decisions made yet of anyone playing, so I'm still deciding on what my starting unit is going to be. Next question, please. Hi, Jack Snape from The Guardian. Well done. Excited to be here as I'm sure you are. A lot of talk about the 2023 World Cup. Question for Sam. Do you think that today's Matildas could be that version of Matildas two or three years ago? It's a very similar team, I think. There's a couple of different players, but I think they're different. And I'm not injured. It's hard to say. I think every year that I play in the Matildas, the team's getting better. From when I started, to the first World Cup I went to, to the last World Cup I went to, I think the team honestly gets better and better every year. I think that's a mix of more experienced players playing overseas and then the younger generation coming through now is really good. I'm not sure. I think it would be a good game to be honest, but probably with the extra three players on the squad we might go a little bit deeper in the tournament. Maybe one better. Thank you very much. A question for you Sam off the back of that. This time in 2023, you knew you had a lot to work through with your injury. How are you feeling going into this tournament, ready to go and leave the country on home soil? Just like I said before, really excited. I think obviously the last tournament didn't go the way I wanted personally, but on a team level it was an amazing tournament. I feel like I'm just really lucky to be here again at a major tournament on home soil. Most people in their career only play one home tournament at home, so the fact that we get two opportunities is an incredible honour. I'm just really looking forward to being in a tournament and not talking about my left calf, talking about the football and being back to playing. I've had a long journey from my ACL return, so I'm just honestly so excited, so grateful to be back here and just be playing football, enjoying training, enjoying all the things that come with a team. A question for Joe as well. You've spoken a lot over the last few months for this moment, but now that you're here at the stadium, tomorrow you're going to walk out in front of a really big crowd with a big opportunity for the country. And against someone that you've known for many, many years, Mark Picasso spoke about you two being good friends. How are you feeling on match day? Yeah, excited. Just really looking forward to getting on the pitch, to be honest. It's been sort of a journey, a different journey to get here, but I think these are special occasions. These are occasions that you treasure in our sport as professionals. There's a lot of pride, a lot of pride from my personal perspective to obviously be able to be part of this special group and to be part of tomorrow. I just think the whole tournament itself is going to be amazing, so I'm looking forward to it. Amanda Shalala, ABC News. Sam, for you, this is your fifth Asian Cup. You've seen the evolution of women's football in Asia. There are still a lot of teams coming into here, though, that are nowhere near where Australia is at. What do you hope to see for Asian football and the growth of some of those nations that aren't necessarily where Australia is at? Yeah, I hope they have the same growth as us. I think when I went to my first Asian Cup, no one expected us to win it. We were considered one of the dark horses or outsiders, and maybe 1,000 people came and watched our game. I had to call my mum. The games weren't even live at the time, so you have to start somewhere. Five Asian Cups ago, that's where Australia was, and fast forward to today, and the Matildas of the household there in Australia. I think maybe the other teams can see that inspiration that the Matildas have done in their country, and I hope for all the other nations that they go off in the same trajectory as the Matildas have. I think you've seen it. Talking about the Philippines, their World Cup last time was amazing, and I think those things like that really inspire a nation, and hopefully there's many more Asian countries that do the same thing. You are the third. G'day, I'm Justin Chadwick here from AAP. There's a lot of players who talk about coming back from an Europa. They might say two months, six months, 12 months before they really feel back to their normal self. I'm just wondering where you feel that you sit on that. Yeah, I think it's kind of come in waves. I think at the start of my, when I came back from the ACL with Chelsea at the start of the season, I felt really good, and then I probably had a little bit of a dip, and then I felt from December onwards, when I started scoring a few more goals and just feeling relaxed and confident in my ability again, I think I started to really feel at my best, and then working my way up from the Christmas break. No, I feel really good. I feel like I'm just trying to get my confidence back. When you're out for so long, you kind of have all this self-doubt creeping in and all of that, but I've had so many amazing people around me, and I feel right at home with the Matildas, so it's a good place for me to just settle back in and be myself, but I feel like I'm probably 85 and above. I don't want to say I'm at 100 yet. I haven't had one of those games yet where I felt completely myself, but I think about 85% and above. So, this will be you. So, first lady, and then we will, yeah. Thank you. And then this will be you. Hi, both. Sam Lewis from The Guardian. Good to see you. Sam, you mentioned there before in the previous answer, you referenced your first ever Asian Cup back in 2010. You're the last remaining Matilda who remembers how it feels to lift that trophy. Have you been reflecting or thinking about that tournament at all? You were 16 when it happened, a huge moment, and what words of wisdom do you have for your younger teammates now coming into their first big Asian Cup? Yeah, I mean, that makes me sad that I'm the last one standing. Who was it before? Meeks, I think. No, I mean, that still to this day is one of the best moments in my footballing career, and I know how much this team wants to win something together. I know how much every player wants to win something for the Matildas, but I think for me, just reflecting back on the tournament, I think going in as a little bit of a dark horse helped us as a national team, and now with the pressure that I guess the Matildas carry, I think we've just tried to not talk about it, not talk about winning, just talk about one game at a time, and I think that's what we did back in 2010. So, I think for us as a team, we've kind of just focused on one game at a time, and I think that will help, and I think take the pressure off ourselves, and I know how much everyone wants to win this tournament, of course, but we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. There's a lot of great teams in our path, and we just have to take it one game at a time. Just enjoy yourself. I mean, there's so many girls, this is their first tournament. I mean, I was talking to Remy today and joking around with her. It's her first tournament, and I had the most fun ever at that tournament in 2010. I didn't expect to play, I went on, I had a really big impact, and people think I played multiple minutes there because I scored in the final. I remember I sat on the bench for the first two games. So, you never know when your opportunity will come, and you just have to take it with both hands. So, just for girls, when they get their opportunity, whatever it is, just to have fun and be themselves. They're all selected from Jo for different reasons, and yeah, just enjoy it. Thank you for waiting. Hi, I'm Peter Atencio of Manila Standard. This question is for Sam Kerr. What's your journey like since you got injured and for the recovery, now going into the game with the Philippines? Yeah, it's been a long journey, but I think after missing out on the Olympics, I thought my main goal is to be here at the Asian Cup. So, it's all been worth it, and I'm very, very excited to play the Philippines. I think, like I said before, they're an up-and-coming team. They've got some really big players, and they had a great World Cup. So, the journey's been long and hard, but it's all been worth it now that I'm here in Perth, and ready to play the Philippines. Confidence is up? What's that say? Confidence is up? Yeah, lots of confidence. Obviously, the whole team's feeling really confident. We've had a good training week. People have been scoring goals at their respective clubs, and we've had a really nice training week. So, we're all pretty confident. Thank you. Thanks for being here. Take care. Thank you. Hey, Sam. Peter Smith from Western Australia. I hope you're well. The 2023 World Cup was obviously brilliant, but it didn't have a game in Perth with the Matildas. As someone who is as proud to be a Sandgroper as you are, how excited are you to be able to step out there tomorrow, not just with a stadium full of 50,000, 60,000 people, but in front of friends and family who have supported you your entire life? Yeah. I mean, I've crossed every finger and toe for the World Cup to be in Perth, but it didn't come true. But, no, I think the next best thing is the Asian Cup. Not only is the Asian Cup one of the biggest trophies for us, it's the World Cup qualification. And, yeah, like you said, we all get to play in front of family and friends, but when you do it at a major tournament, it's extra special. And, yeah, first time being a mum playing in Perth, so that's special. And, yeah, all my family and friends will be here and not have to fly to the East Coast. So, it feels great. But mostly it feels great to bring it back here for the fans. Like, we have so many West Australian fans that spend so much money and time flying all across the country. So, to bring a major tournament here, it feels really great and something that the team can give back to the game is perfect. Erin Smith from Pro Sport. Ken, obviously a lot's happened off the field for you as well between the World Cup and now. Can you talk a bit about how challenging that has been mentally, especially given you're all in the spotlight and everything as well? Didn't really hide what was going on? No, I mean, I think I've had the most... I think the thing for me that I look back on the most is Jagger. I think it's been an incredible year for me and I think although there's been, you know, a lot of downsides with my knee and stuff, I think having a child gives you the greatest gift in life. So, I feel like I've been... I've had really good friends, really good family, a lot of support from football around me. So, I feel like although there's been a few downs, I have had an amazing year and it's been, yeah, a really great year for me. Joe, just a quick one for you. We didn't see Kyra Cooney-Cross out there this morning. Can you just give us an update on how she's going? Yeah, good. Going really well. Just all precaution. We effectively, as I said before, the lead-up has been very tight. So, a lot of players were playing on the weekend. So, we've just got them all on individual sort of programs and we're thinking ahead to, you know, we're going to take the opportunities to make sure that players are really at the right time to be part of the... where she's struggling. Thank you very much for attending and thanks for a very good webinar. Thank you.