The Matildas’ preparations for March’s Asian Cup on home soil are finally underway, as new manager Joe Montemurro presided over 3-0 and 1-1 results in a pair of friendlies against Slovenia last week.

Just eight months and three international windows remain for Montemurro to settle his squad for the continental championships, which double as qualifiers for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. That time frame is very short, when considering the ten months chewed up between Tony Gustavsson’s exit after last year’s Olympics and the new manager’s appointment.

If Montemurro can whip the side into shape before the Asian Cup then that period of delay will not just be forgiven, but likely completely forgotten. Anything less will reflect poorly on not just manager and players but also Football Australia, who after 2023’s spike in public affection towards the Matildas, would be seen to have blown a chance at a second wind.

‘The work has started in earnest and I think those [Slovenia] results left us with just as many questions as we had when we were in the period of stasis for the best part of a year, waiting for a new full time coach to arrive’, Network 10’s Teo Pellizzeri told Box2Box.

‘There were certainly some positives, the main one being how glowingly all players interviewed have spoken about Montemurro and the camp environment. But the football, selection, and whether those [specific] players should even be there to speak glowingly about him, all continue to rage on.’

Montemurro stated he was ‘happy with the performance’ after the second Slovenia fixture, which was soured by Mirjam Kastelec’s late equaliser following Michelle Heyman’s opener. In a prime example of why friendly scorelines shouldn’t hold too much weight, that performance was an improvement on the 3-0 win three nights prior.

Two more matches now beckon against Panama, starting in Bunbury on Saturday afternoon. The Matildas have never played the central American nation, currently ranked 56th by FIFA, who made their World Cup debut in 2023.

‘I’m really intrigued to see what we get from Montemurro during this second camp. There’s definitely enough time to implement a possession-heavy game style that will [eventually] see them to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup and qualify for the next World Cup’, said Pellizzeri.

‘The question is whether that will be implementable, or worth attempting, against a South Korea or Japan, to win the Asian Cup? There will be a huge disparity in strength between the teams that are going to qualify for this tournament.

‘Let’s not forget that at the last Asian Cup, for reasons best known to the Matildas regime at the time, they went out and pizzled Indonesia 19-0 in the first game (Australia ultimately fell at the quarter-final stage and relied on its hosting status to qualify for the 2023 World Cup].

‘So, executing a high-possession, ball-dominant style will be doable for most, if not all of the Asian Cup – except for potentially, the semi-final or final.’