The Matildas may have suffered a shock loss to Panama but new coach Joe Montemurro isn’t looking at it that way, even if it came against the 56th-ranked nation in the world.
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Montemurro, who oversaw a 3-0 win and 1-1 draw against Slovenia in his first two games in charge, made 10 changes to his starting line-up and also blooded four debutants off the bench in the 1-0 friendly loss to Panama.
While a surprising defeat, Montemurro was keeping an eye on the long-term vision when asked about it by reporters.
In fact, he said he didn’t “really look” at the game against Panama “as a loss”. So, how did he see it then?
Well, for him it was more of an information-gathering opportunity. A chance to see how younger players performed and how new combinations and playing styles fared.
“I’ve looked at it more as information for us to go forward,” he said.
“When you make a lot of changes like that, there was going to be a little bit of instability, but I still have belief in the process, and still have belief going forward.
“You have to look at the positives, the negatives, and where they can learn. There’s a little bit of a general cultural piece that we can take out of it – understanding international football, understanding what to do when a team breaks up the game.
“The perfect way of learning these levels of international football is through an experience like we had the other day.”
Montemurro went on to explain that it was the “perfect opportunity” to experiment with new combinations in a low-stakes environment, with the process more important than results at this stage.
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“You don’t lose, you learn from these situations,” he said.
“It’s the perfect opportunity to learn, because it’s not a do or die game, it’s not a game that we are going to lose points on or lose our status in a competition situation.”
It is the kind of attitude the Matildas will need to carry into Tuesday night’s second game against Panada, which starts at 8pm AEST, with more experienced players unavailable.
The Matildas were already without a host of big names in the 1-0 loss, headlined by Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Ellie Carpenter, Charlotte Grant, Alanna Kennedy and Clare Hunt.
Now, Teagan Micah has been ruled out due to injury while Alex Chidiac, Kaitlyn Torpey and Emily Gielnik have also left camp.
It leaves Montemurro having to rely on his younger players to step up again, although once more the focus won’t be on the scoreline.
“It’s only going to be better for them going forward,” he said.
“Because, as I’ve said all along, we have to be better with the ball under pressure. We have to understand the moments that we can go forward, and the times we have to prepare with the ball.”