How the Matildas were schooled by England in shocking 3-0 loss
Australia’s beloved Matildas suffered an absolute thrashing by England this week after a trainwreck first half saw them schooled by the Lionesses in embarrassing fashion. Here’s what happened
READING LEVEL: GREEN
The Matildas suffered a devastating defeat in England on Wednesday morning (AEDT), with the host nation smashing Australia 3-0 in embarrassingly easy fashion.
So, what exactly went wrong for the Matildas? Let’s take a closer look at the ins and outs of the game.
FIRST HALF DISASTER
The first half of the match at Pride Park in Derby could only be described as a trainwreck for Australia, with a red card* against them and two goals to England.
The nightmare started when Aussie Alanna Kennedy was shown a red card for dragging down Alessia Russo.
The centre back had attempted a Cruyff turn* when under pressure in the 17th minute, but her gamble backfired.
From there, the Matildas were forced to slide deep in defence after England took possession for most of the match.
The Lionesses had 18 shots on goal in the first half to Australia’s two, according to Sky Sports.
Australia finished the match with one shot on target and only had 29.6 per cent of the possession.
England’s first goal came in the 20th minute, when Aggie Beever-Jones had a second crack inside the penalty area after her first free kick slammed into the defensive wall* before the ball rebounded nicely back at her feet.
Her second strike thundered through the messy sea of bodies and left Mackenzie Arnold powerless to stop the first goal.
The second goal for the Lionesses arrived in the 40th minute, when the defence was opened up with a clever cut back* that allowed Lucy Bronze to finish from near the penalty spot.
THE MATILDAS’ LOST SHOT
The Matildas did have one chance to level the scores earlier in the half when star striker Sam Kerr was in a glorious position, unmarked*. However, Kyra Cooney-Cross’ pass was poor and the ball floated feebly into the hands of English keeper Hannah Hampton.
During the game, English commentators were loving the first half blitz at home.
Former England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain said on ITV: “Australia are the masters of their own downfall at the moment. They keep giving the ball away in dangerous areas.”
The BBC said the hosts had “bamboozled” Australia in the first half.
“It’s almost like shooting practice for England at the minute,” one BBC reporter wrote.
THE SECOND HALF
The Matildas steadied once the second half was underway, with new coach Joe Montemurro clearly instructing his team to tighten up its defensive line and to get more physical around the ball.
But it wasn’t enough to stop the Lionesses from scoring again.
The third goal came in stoppage time* via a penalty kick, converted by Georgia Stanway.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE MATILDAS?
Australia now has just two matches remaining before the 2026 Asian Cup in March on home soil.
As expected, Kerr reclaimed Australia’s captain’s armband in just her second appearance back, after not playing for the Matildas for almost two years.
During her 70 minutes on the field, Kerr was often left frustrated by her side’s lack of penetration* going forward.
Usually playing in the UK as a Chelsea attacker, Kerr did force a sharp near-post save out of her club teammate, England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, in the 27th minute. But Hampton didn’t need to make another save after that for the rest of the game.
“It was tough to go down to 10 men (players) against a good team like England, and we didn’t really get to show what we have worked on this last week,” Kerr said after the game.
“We had such a different plan for the game, to only concede the one in the second half with a penalty was a positive. It was disappointing to play with 10 … but we stuck together as a team.”
The Matildas’ record is now two wins from five games since Montemurro started as coach.
Ellie Carpenter said: “That is one game we want to forget.
“It was a very tough game and England are obviously a quality side. I think we have a lot to work on. The Asian Cup is very soon and tonight was a big lesson for us.”
The stats from Wednesday’s game show just how poorly Australia performed.
England completed 720 passes compared to Australia’s 299, according to the BBC.
They also had 48 touches inside Australia’s box, compared to just 13 for the Matildas.
The only low point of the match for the Lionesses was teenage substitute Michelle Agyemang being stretchered off in the second half with what seemed to be a serious knee injury.
But on a positive note, star player Mary Fowler looks likely to return in time for the Asian Cup on home soil in March next year with her recovery from an ACL injury on track, bringing renewed hope for Tillies fans across the country.
— with NewsWire
POLL
GLOSSARY
- red card: when a player is immediately sent off the field and can’t be replaced, leaving the team with one less player than usual
- Cruyff turn: a move where a player pretends to take a shot or pass but then uses the other foot to drag the ball behind their standing leg to reverse direction
- defensive wall: a group of players standing shoulder to shoulder to try and block a shot from a free kick
- cut back: when a player in possession runs towards the goal line but then passes the ball backwards diagonally to a teammate
- unmarked: no players from the other team watching them in order to challenge them if they gain possession of the ball
- stoppage time: extra time added to the end of the game to make up for lost time due to interruptions
- penetration: playing the ball through, around or over the other team in order to get closer to the goal
EXTRA READING
Matildas’ big win and record crowd
Matildas magic brings clean sweep
Matildas star stuns with epic goal
QUICK QUIZ
1. What was the final score of the game?
2. What happened in the 17th minute that resulted in a red card?
3. How many goals did England score in the first half?
4. How many passes did England complete compared to Australia?
5. How many matches does Australia have before the 2026 Asian Cup?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Why did they win?
Why do you think the Lionesses won their game? Find clues in the story to write a list of specific points to answer this question.
Time: allow at least 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education
2. Extension
Write a speech that you would give the Matildas before their next training session. The purpose of your speech is to give some specific suggestions for what they can improve or change in their game and to inspire them to learn from their loss to win their next match.
Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education
VCOP ACTIVITY
Player profile
Create a template for a player profile that we can fill in with all the information you want to know about some of our Matildas stars. Make sure the layout has subtitles, and perhaps questions under each subtitle, to help us fill it in.
Extension: Let’s test your layout. Can you use the player profile layout and fill it in with information about yourself? Check to see if you included enough categories. Will we learn a lot about you, or do you need to add more sections? Share your fact file with your class, so they can learn more about you.