It was a tough night out for the Matildas, who were defeated by Brazil 3-1 in a heated clash at Lang Park.
Two of those opposition goals came straight off the blocks as Brazil dominated the opening 20 minutes.
Despite fighting their way back into the match and the best efforts of Caitlin Foord, who continues to star, the Matildas couldn’t find a way through the the reigning Olympic silver medallists.
The match had the added emotion of being part of veteran Clare Polkinghorne’s farewell tour — her last match in Brisbane.
Here are some quick hits from the match.
‘Too easy for Brazil’
The Matildas found themselves two goals down within the opening 13 minutes of the match, putting themselves on the back foot early.
It took just six minutes for Amanda Gutierres to find the opening goal for Brazil. Her second came seven minutes later.
Hayley Raso in action against Brazil.
Former professional player and commentator Grace Gill said the Matildas were absolutely caught off guard.
“That was not dealt with by the Matildas,” Gill said on Paramount.
“Too easy for Brazil, far too easy … That silenced the crowd.”
Brazil were afforded far too much space by Australia throughout the match, with the home team leaky in defence and at times undisciplined. It ended up costing them.
Australia were missing a long list of key players due to injury or being managed including Mary Fowler, Katrina Gorry, Clare Wheeler, Cortnee Vine, Kaitlyn Torpey, Sam Kerr and Amy Sayer.
Yet they still boasted a far amount of experience on the park, including Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso, who fought hard up forward.
Foord’s redeeming goal, Australia’s only of the night, was one to admire.
It was Ellie Carpenter with the assist, with credit to Emily Van Egmond, who had a dummy and let the ball pass her knowing Foord was primed in a much better spot.
Then Foord had a touch, brilliant turn, another touch and then brilliant strike to sink the ball in the back of the net.
A heated match
One of the most remarkable outcomes of the first half was that no cards were awarded.
In the second, Brazilian Vitória Calhau was forced off after receiving two yellow cards — the second after fouling Ellie Carpenter.
Caitlin Foord of Australia battles for possession with Isa Haas of Brazil.
In the first half, Foord threw her hands up at the referee after having her shirt yanked by Isa Haas as she streamed towards the goal and no free kick was given.
When she scored minutes later, pent-up energy burst out of her as she pumped her first at the crowd.
Raso, a likely culprit for some feeling with her opponent, found herself in an even more heated contest than usual with Calhau.
There was a particularly fiery moment when Calhau wrapped her arms around Raso, off the ball, and brought her to ground. The pair eyed off as the home crowd protested the action.
Calhau eventually earned a yellow card at the 65th minute. The second in the 86th.
Raso also gave it back at times, pushing her opponent to the ground in one moment.
Even Tom Sermanni got animated with an official in the final minutes of the first half.
Polkinghorne’s emotional goodbye
It was an emotional start to the evening as all the players who weren’t on the starting list lined up to the left of the players tunnel. Polkinghorne’s family on the right.
The series in Brisbane is the last for the Matildas for veteran Polkinghorne, who is Australia’s most capped footballer with 168 appearances since her debut in 2006.
Clare Polkinghorne emotional in farewell series in Brisbane.
When Polkinghorne was presented with a jersey by fellow Queenslander legend Darren Lockyer, her teammates — including Alanna Kennedy and Michelle Heyman — couldn’t help but shed a few tears.
“Just a few quick words for me because we’ve got a game to get on with,” Polkinghorne addressed the crowd.
“It’s so special for me to be here and to celebrate in front of my home fans, in a city I grew up and in a stadium that I absolutely love.
“And this team has been everything to me. And it’s been a hell of a journey and I’m very thankful for everything that everyone has done along the way.”
A poetic finish under interim coach Tom Sermanni, who handed Polkinghorne her debut.
Interest in the Matildas continues to rise
The Matildas’ match against Brazil at Lang Park is their 15th consecutive public sellout on home soil. Their Sunday match at Robina Stadium in the Gold Coast, which Football Australia revealed to be projected to be sold out, will be their 16th.
The official crowd number was 47,501 which included a few empty pockets of seats in the lower levels, which are stadium members, which Football Australia don’t get a say over selling.
The Matildas last match at Lang Park was against Canada in 2022, which had a crowd of 25,000.
“There’s been a narrative in the media that Matildas interest post Women’s World Cup was starting to wane,” James Johnson, CEO of Football Australia, said at the pre-match function.
“This Matildas brand is going from strength to strength and getting strong post Women’s World Cup, not weaker.”
To make his case, Football Australia revealed that the average home attendance for Matildas home games has grown by 3,000 from 2023, when the boom of the World Cup saw fandom for the team grip the nation.
In 2024, including current sold out figures from the current series against Brazil and Taiwan, the average attendances are at 44,000. In 2023, the average was 41,781.
Another positive was Winonah Heatley finding herself on the starting list for the first time and Sharn Freier with almost her first goal for the national side. She fired strong and late in the match but her shot was blocked.
