Match report
That’s all from me for now. Thank you for joining me for this live blog.
The Matildas will face New Zealand again on Tuesday evening. You can be sure we will be blogging and reporting that one too, so please come back then.
For now, stay tuned for Joey Lynch’s match report.
Montemurro says he has set the standards very high, and tonight showed that even with that pressure they were able to do some good things, although still things to work out. He says New Zealand caught them off guard on the break which is something they need to work on, especially up against better teams as they will in the Asian Cup. Kerr should play on Tuesday, he says, but will just manage her minutes.
While she may not have Kerr’s experience or finishing finesse, Sayer looked fantastic tonight in her place. Everyone is itching to see Kerr back to full fitness but the more Sayer gets out their the faster she will stamp her name as a possible successor, which would only be a good thing for the Matildas.
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Carpenter is up next. Le clean sheet is what she was hoping for and that’s what they got. She says the players are really proud of being able to play like that in front of a home crowd, especially with the Asian Cup just around the corner, also on home soil.
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Raso is speaking to the broadcasters now. She says she is pretty happy with the goal off her left foot. “I saw the keeper was not in her goal, so I’ll have a crack here.”
She says having the fresh eyes of Montemurro has been really good for the team.
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The stats reflect Australia’s dominance in the end: 15 shots on target to 2, 66% possession. Australia are gearing up to make a run for the Asian Cup title. New Zealand didn’t qualify so are at a totally different phase in their team development. The score line is brutal but they had some promising moments throughout the match.
Cooney-Cross, in her typical understated way, says she is very happy with her goal. Her goal which will probably get her nominated for the Marta award for the second time in a row …
Kyra Cooney-Cross only scores BANGERS 🔥
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) November 28, 2025
Only seconds after the restart KCC produces an unbelievable long-range finish!
🎥 @ParamountPlusAU #Matildas #AUSvNZL #FeelNewSouthWales pic.twitter.com/mXTWkUmjIz
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Full-time: Australia 5-0 New Zealand
New Zealand almost net a consolation goal as Rennie makes a counterattack and catches Arnold off her line. Rennie’s shot from narrow angle doesn’t have enough power behind it and Carpenter can clear it. And that’s full time in Gosford!
Key event
90 + 4 mins: Catley shoots to the left and the goalkeeper saves it!
90 + 3 mins: We have a penalty. McNamara was brought down by the goalkeeper. Catley to the spot.
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Goal! Australia 5-0 New Zealand (Gorry, 92')
Gorry powers towards the edge of the area with the ball, passes it off to McNamara then receives it back and it almost just ricochets off her legs into the goal.
90 + 1 mins: The energy has dissipated a bit, the ball going end to end. Wheeler makes a break from the half-way line. New Zealand get back quickly.
88 mins: Heatley is getting checked after that corner. I think she may have clashed heads with the defender.
86 mins: Yallop breaks through the midfield and passes forward to McNamara. New Zealand’s Bunge trips McNamara as she takes off and Catley lines up the free kick. It’s a high ball in which finds Heatley’s head and pops high and wide.
84 mins: Carpenter hasn’t really slowed down I retract my earlier comment. She has a chance for a second goal after being set up nicely by Siemsen. The goalkeeper is able to block is an McNamara pounces on the rebound but it’s scooped up.
82 mins: And right on cue Foord is brought off and Siemsen in on. McNamara is over on the left now and coolly and calmy brings the ball the corner of the area before stepping side of her defender and firing off a shot. The goalkeeper bats it out for a corner.
80 mins: There’s possibly some fatigue creeping in for Foord and Carpenter who haven’t stopped running all night.
78 mins: New Zealand haven’t dropped the pressure despite the expanding goal difference. Carpenter is challenged and forced to send the ball back to start again for Autsralia.
76 mins: Now more changes for the Matildas. Cooney-Cross comes off for Wheeler. Van Egmond off for Yallop. The announcer reveals the crowd tonight is 21,519 on the Central Coast.
74 mins: More changes for New Zealand. I’m surprised Foord is still on, she’s been working very hard and is being used as a bit of a punching bag by New Zealand.
Goal! Australia 4-0 New Zealand (Cooney-Cross, 71')
Cooney-Cross! She picks up the ball on the edge of the centre circle, takes a couple of touches, a couple of steps, notices the keeper slightly off her line and takes the shot. It hits the underside of the crossbar and thunders into the goal.
Goal! Australia 3-0 New Zealand (Carpenter, 70')
Cooney-Cross sends the ball to Heyman’s feet on the edge of the area who back heels it to a New Zealand defender. Heyman touches the rebound to Carpenter who fires it past the goalkeeper.
68 mins: McNamara and Heyman are straight into the scrappy action. Clegg has another go for New Zealand pushing into the area and testing Catley. New Zealand have a corner. Punched clear(ish) by Arnold and then out for a goalkick.
64 mins: This half has been significantly more frenetic than the first. Australia have not shown the fluidity we got a glimpse of in the first half. And now for some Matildas changes. Raso, Nevin and Sayer are off. Torpey, McNamara and Heyman are on.
62 mins: Carpenter makes a break and runs the field with Raso at her side who she passes off to only for Raso to send it straight into the goalkeepers gloves.
60 mins: New Zealand are catching Australia a little flatfooted at the back on these counterattacks. Substitute Clegg makes a run down the right and Catley is forced to clear her cross out for a corner. Arnole is shaking coming out to grab it and it bounces around in the area before coming out and allowing New ZEaland to reset.
57 mins: They’re going end to end now. Carpenter runs half the field and gets the ball off to Raso as she is brought down. The referee plays the advantage but Raso’s pass into the centre is off target. The Ferns push straight back, testing Arnold really for the first time into a low dive.
55 mins: Sayer gets on the run again and takes the ball to the left corner of the area. She has players in the centre but her pass (or shot?) goes straight to the goalkeeper. At the other end Riley has another opportunity and this time Arnold is forced into a save as her shot is deflected off Nevin.
53 mins: A chance to score for Foord! Van Egmond chips the ball over the defence to her and she finds herself face to face with the goalkeeper. The ball drops to the grass but the keeper is able to pull it in. New Zealand are quick on the counter and Riley gets off a shot but not on target.
51 mins: Carpenter dances on the edge of the area but loses possession and the ball goes out for a throw. A second time she gets a cross off to Foord who volleys it into the defender. She hasn’t really been able to cut through as well as she normally does.
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49 mins: No changes at half time for Australia. But we will expect Montemurro to shuffle things around quite a bit in the second half. Perhaps not opting for Kerr though, she looks pretty cosy on the bench. Australia have turned down the volume after a frenetic first few minutes.
47 mins: Foord picks up a pass along the sideline but slips as she gets to it. No matter, she’s up and the cross is headed with some oomph into the goalkeeper. Strong start to the second half for Australia.
Second half
Peeeeeeeeep 2.0!
Half-time: Australia 2-0 New Zealand
With every minute of that half the Matildas looked more and more in tune with each other. More than we have seen for a while. Obviously there’s plenty of room for improvement and they are not being hugely tested by this opposition, but they showed how they can move the ball forward elegantly, not just relying on that blistering counterattack and balls over the top.
45+3 mins: New Zealand are doing well to hold of Raso and Carpenter on the right in the final minutes of this half. Australia have a corner to round it out. Catley takes it on the right, goalkeeper grabs it easily.
45 mins: New Zealand push forward again. Paige-Riley takes the ball all the way to the edge of the area before firing off a shot that sends Arnold leaping but flies high. At the other end Raso has a chance with the New Zealand goalkeeper far off her line. Raso takes the shot herself and I think the keeper actually got a hand to it.
42 mins: Another chance as Gorry picks up an errant pass and rushes foward. Raso and Foord are there but Gorry’s pass goes straight to New ZEaland’s feet.
40mins: Strong calls for a penalty after Raso appears to brought down in the area by Bott. No interest from the referee. New Zealand’s Longo is working hard in the midfield but their pushes forward are not finding that final player at the front.
38 mins: There’s some excellent play by Australia from Heatley at the back through to Raso. She can’t find Carpenter on the touchline though and it goes for a throw. Back to Raso with a low curling cross in front of the backline, Foord lunges but can’t make contact with her head.
36 mins: Foord is unleashes with a through ball from Van Egmond but she is offside.
34 mins: Van Egmond is not connecting well with the wide players, I just feel like someone like Wheeler maybe might do better there.
32 mins: Australia aren’t letting New Zealand get as far with the ball now. Before they were pressuring but not diving in too much, now they are getting in there and taking back possession.
30 mins: From a throw in Sayer cuts through the backline to find Foord in the area but her shot is picked up by a diving New Zealand keeper. Then Cooney-Cross has a ping from the edge of the area which flies just high of the cross bar.
26 mins: Sayer has another chance! She hits the ball low from outside the box but it deflects off the post and Carpenter sends the rebound over the crossbar.
Goal! Australia 2-0 New Zealand (Raso, 24')
A very poor backwards pass from Hahn is pounced on by Raso who curls it on left around a defender just inside the far post. A lovely goal.
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22 mins: The first corner is pushed back over the touchline by Heatley. Second punched back out by Arnold. Third from Foster on the other side lands in the box but is cleared with haste and multiple players on the deck.
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20 mins: New Zealand moving the ball around nicely in midfield under pressure from Foord and Raso. It results in Paige-Riley with another pacey run up the right and a corner.
High passing accuracy from the Matildas so far (87%), but those passes that aren’t connecting are being pounced on fast by the opposition.
18 mins: New Zealand have been energised by conceding an early goal. They are putting on the pressure and testing Arnold and her backline properly for the first time. Foster takes corner for New Zealand but Carpenter and comrades clean things up.
16 mins: New Zealand’s Brown makes a run down the right and gets off a nice cross which is dealt with easily by Heatley.
Goal! Australia 1-0 New Zealand (Sayer, 13')
Lovely free kick from on the half-way line over the top of the defence. The defensive header puts the ball at Gorry’s feet and she calmly sets up Sayer to her left who takes a breath and sends it smoothly past the goalkeeper.
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12 mins: Foord unleashes Carpenter on the right but play is brought back for a Matildas free kick in the centre. Probably should have been allowed to play on there. Carpenter as usual looks fierce with the ball at her feet.
10 mins: A bit of back and forth in the Ferns half here. Australia seem happy to just take their time, pouncing on the counter-attack as we know they love to do.
8 mins: Australia regain some composure working out from the back again. A through ball finds Foord who flicks it on beautifully to Raso with clear air to goal. Raso curls the ball past the far post. She definitely had time to take another touch there, that was a big missed chance.
6 mins: Kerr is apparently experiencing calf tightness and did not warm up at all.
Gorry loses possession in the midfield and gives up a free kick. Both teams are applying feverish pressure in these opening minutes.
4 mins: Sayer finds Raso just outside the 18-yard box but she can’t find a way through.
2 mins: Australia start by taking their time passing it around the back before a poor pass finds the feet of a New Zealand player. They push quickly and have a chance with some scrambling around the 18-yard box before Foord and Van Egmond go on the counter. The push amounts to nought in the end.
Kick-off
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
It’s time for the pyrotechnic show at Gosford, the players are in the tunnel, squeals of excitement are being elicited from the MC.
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Overshadowing the Matildas’ return home is the dire state of the domestic league.
As Sam Lewis explains, the A-League Women has stagnated and its players are the lowest-paid professional athletes in the country, according to a report from earlier this month.
Add to that the recent discussions around fixtures in international windows and things look rather bleak. The ALW is the only professional league to continue playing during this international window, mostly due to its upcoming extended pause during the Asian Cup.
Weather report!
It’s a lovely 24C on the New South Wales Central Coast this evening. Looks delightful in Gosford.
New Zealand XI
Here's how we start in Gosford 🇳🇿⚔️🇦🇺
— New Zealand Football 🇳🇿 (@NZ_Football) November 28, 2025
▶️ Watch live and free on TVNZ and FIFA+ from 9:30PM NZT at https://t.co/pWYNPd5zzA pic.twitter.com/g7TjKO257c
Looks like Kerr is not willing to risk anything in the warmup!
Steph Catley will move to the centre of defence with Courtney Nevin coming into the starting XI at left back. A big test for Nevin before Asian Cup selection.
Australia XI
STARTING XI 🗒
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) November 28, 2025
Here's how we line up for our game against New Zealand in Gosford! 👊#Matildas #AUSvNZL #FeelNewSouthWales pic.twitter.com/8wB9PjYDVI
The Kerr question…?
Matildas captain Sam Kerr has been on a lighter training load since landing in camp and also missed her last two club games for Chelsea. It appears that her knee is still giving her trouble even after that very long recovery period.
Kerr and coach Joe Montemurro have indicated that she will decide how many minutes she plays against the Football Ferns. Obviously fans will be eager to see the striker given it would be the first time she has played at home in two years.
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With these two friendlies the last hitout before the Asian Cup in March much focus is on whether the Matildas can pull together a strong tilt at the title. But in other sectors of the Australian football landscape some are paying closer attention to waning levels of interest in the Matildas since the 2023 World Cup phenomenon.
My colleague Jack Snape has taken a look at how things have shifted since the Matildas became Australia’s favourite sporting team.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the international friendly between Australia and New Zealand in Gosford. I’m Jo Khan and I’ll be taking you through the pre-game news, minute-by-minute play report and into some reactions.
Kick-off at Polytec Stadium is 7.30pm AEDT, or 9.30pm if you are over the ditch.
Please send your comments or questions through to me at jo.khan@theguardian.com.
Let’s get into it!
