Sam Kerr struck a sensational second-half winner as the Matildas beat China 2-1 in Perth on Tuesday night to book a place in Saturday’s Women’s Asian Cup final in Sydney.
Australia opened the scoring in the 17th minute through Caitlin Foord, finishing a slick team move involving Mary Fowler and Ellie Carpenter. Fowler released Carpenter wide, received the return pass and cut the ball back for Foord, who timed her run perfectly to slot home for her 40th goal for Australia.
China levelled before half-time from the penalty spot after Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold was penalised for impeding Zhang Linyan in the box. The incident followed a defensive mix-up, with the referee issuing Arnold a yellow card before VAR upheld the decision. Zhang converted the spot kick to make it 1-1.
The match turned in the second half on the counter-attack. With China pushing forward, Kaitlyn Torpey won the ball back in midfield and Kerr moved it wide to Foord, who returned the pass into space for her captain. Kerr then rounded the goalkeeper and finished with her left foot from a tight angle, sparking jubilant celebrations in front of the home crowd.
Commentator Grace Gill described the strike as “perfection” on Paramount Plus, while Andy Harper called it “the finish of a natural killer”.
The semi-final was a physical contest, with Katrina Gorry, Kerr and Foord all on the receiving end of heavy challenges. Gorry was left in significant pain in the first half after a studs-up tackle from China’s Wang Aifang, who was shown a yellow card.
Australia will now face the winner of Wednesday’s other semi-final between Japan and South Korea, with the final to be played at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday night. The Matildas are chasing their first Asian Cup title since 2010, with the current core of veterans aiming to add a defining trophy after fourth-place finishes at the 2023 World Cup and Tokyo Olympics.
Attendance at Perth Stadium was confirmed at 35,170 – well below the venue’s 60,000 capacity – with swathes of empty seats visible for the 6pm local-time kick-off on a Tuesday. The tournament’s women’s Asian Cup attendance record was set earlier in the competition when 60,279 watched Australia’s group match against South Korea in Sydney.
Before kick-off, Australia made two changes to the starting XI, recalling Steph Catley after a concussion earlier in the tournament and handing Kyra Cooney-Cross her first start of the campaign.
Veteran midfielder Emily van Egmond, named on the bench, was poised to make her 170th international appearance to overtake Clare Polkinghorne as the Matildas’ most capped player, saying pre-match that “what will cap off the night will be getting that win” – a result the Matildas duly delivered.
