‘Don’t drop your heads’: Montemurro laments Matildas’ latest torment
Joe Montemurro admits he faces a difficult task in dragging his Matildas players back from the depths of despair after their heartbreaking Asian Cup final defeat to Japan, but is adamant they can take some positives from the tournament.
The emotional toll of Saturday night’s 1-0 loss at Accor Stadium was evident the moment the final whistle sounded as shattered players slumped to the ground, aware that what was likely their final chance to win a trophy together had come and gone.
That was despite a performance that was arguably the team’s best in recent memory, having pinned back one of the world’s best teams for long periods. They had more possession, more shots on target, more corners, and more crosses.
All that was missing was the end product.
“The moment, the situation, having the coldness to put the ball in the back of the net … it didn’t fall for us,” said Montemurro.
“It’s going to be hard to bring them together. But they know deep down in their hearts that they gave everything. They did everything they could. They put on an amazing journey for the public and for their fans. I think we solidified us as a footballing team and what we mean. We just have to now start looking forward.
“I said to them after the game, ‘You should be so proud to represent this country. You should be so proud of what you’ve done. Don’t drop your heads.’
“They can’t drop their heads. They’ve got to keep going forward now because we’re at a very, very good point – a really delicate point to go forward at the next stage. I’ll be trying to keep the belief going.”
Players will depart Sydney on Sunday to return to their clubs, but many of them will see each other again soon. There is another international window in April, and though no fixtures have been officially announced, they will be playing friendlies somewhere.
When they do assemble next in camp, Montemurro believes their improving the team’s capacity in possession gives them something to build on as their focus switches to their next major tournament, next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil, which they qualified for by reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Cup.
“I know all this talk about philosophy and game style and style of football … you’re probably sick of me talking about it, but for us to be a top team, we have to keep the ball,” he said.
“We have to be better with the ball. We have to be able to create situations with the ball. And, yes, doing it against one of the top teams in the world in the way we did it, that gives me hope. That gives me belief. But more importantly, it gives the players belief.
“That’s the most important thing, because I’ve said all along, this team … it needs to believe more in who they are and what they can do and what they can achieve. And this tournament has shown that.”
Asked how the Matildas can maintain their status as one of the leading teams in women’s football, while also regenerating their squad with younger, fresher players, Montemurro said the answer was simple: as much exposure as possible to the best available opponents, at both club and international level.
His response, intriguingly, also suggested he would be in no rush to push any of his veteran players out the door – at least not while they were still playing in some of the world’s best competitions.
“We need to play top games, allowing the next group, if you want to call it that, to really be given the opportunity to feel what playing against a big crowd, playing in difficult conditions, what that means,” Montemurro said.
“Tournament football at this level is really about understanding and adapting to the situation. We just need the next generation to be playing high-level football … but we’ve still got the core group that are at the top level themselves. So it’s very hard to say bye-bye because they’re all playing Champions League.
“Maybe in my time, when you’re over 28 or 29 or 30, you were too old – but nowadays with our sports science and with our recovery and with our processes and our load management, players can still play on. I’m excited of that batch, but the next batch is really, really exciting too.”