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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Joey Lynch

Australia secure second Group A win over Iran – as it happened

Alanna Kennedy celebrates after scoring her second goal in Australia’s Group A match against Iran at the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast. Follow for live scores and updates.
Alanna Kennedy celebrates after scoring her second goal as Australia defeat Iran 5-0 on the Gold Coast. Photograph: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Match report

But that’s about all that’s needed from me this evening. I’ll leave you with Samantha Lewis’ match report from the Gold Coast.

Updated

For the Iranians, their hopes of making it through to the knockout stages are pretty much done.

Their goal difference now sitting on -7, they’ll need to beat the Philippines as underdogs in their next game to stand any chance of progressing through as one the best-third-placed finishers, as well as hope that their Group B and Group C rivals suffer a few more heavy defeats.

Joe Montemurro is speaking on the broadcast, voicing his satisfaction with an increased desire from his side to break lines compared to their win over the Philippines, as well as a rise in the tempo of their play.

He also waves away any concerns surrounding Kerr having some ice on her knee after coming off, labelling it a purely precautionary measure.

What can the Matildas take from that game? Probably not much from the second stanza in which the game ground to a chugging pace amid numerous stoppages in play, fatigue, and worsening conditions in the rain. That first half, though, in which they were buzzing around the frontline, switching positions and switching play, and playing some nice combination football showed real promise.

Fowler and Sayer, in particular, aren’t so much generation next as much as generation right now, and they showed that in the first half.

FT: Australia 4-0 Iran

It kind of petered out in the end, but a dominating first-half has steered the Matildas to their second-win of the Asian Cup, a result that secures their progression through to the knockout stages.

Before then, however, they’ll face off with their first proper test of this Asian Cup: facing South Korea in Sydney on Sunday evening, with the winner of that game securing top place in Group A.

Thanks to their back-to-back 3-0 wins over Iran and the Philippines, however, the South Koreans will enter that game knowing that a draw will be enough to secure their top place in the seedings: their +6 goal difference after two games one superior to the Matildas’ +5.

Updated

90+11 Mins: Nevin lifts in a delivery from the left flank that spills out to the far post and is then sent back into the middle for Van Egmond, who has her shot blocked.

90+10 Mins: Montemurro makes it official, introducing Heyman as a concussion substitute for Raso in the final few seconds.

90+9 Mins: Oh bloody hell not again. It’s another falcon for Raso, copping a ball flush to the temple after Hamoudi attempts to boot clear the second phase of the corner.

She goes down and looks like the wind has been taken out of her – hiding her face in her shirt. Michelle Heyman is warming up and it looks like she’ll see out these final few minutes as a concussion substitute.

90+8 Mins: Sayer tired her luck with range with an audacious effort that bounces in front of Yazdani, causing it to bounce off the keeper and out for a corner.

90+6 Mins: Halfway through stoppage time and Nevin launches an effort from both long range and an angle. It sails high and wide of the goals.

90+3 Mins: Siemsen is played through but denied by Yazdani getting off her line quickly. McNamara then threatens to break through, only for Imani to intervene with a last ditch challenge.

Updated

90+1 Mins: No, we won’t have ten minutes of stoppage time. This stoppage time goes to eleven (minutes).

Updated

90 Mins: A final change for Iran, as Kosar Anbari replaces Ghanbari for the final minute of regulation, plus what the commentary is saying will be ten minutes of stoppage time.

86 Mins: McNamara bursts into the penalty area and looks to drag the ball back to a teammate but will instead have to content herself with a corner.

The set piece is sent in the Kennedy direction but Yazdani comes out to punch it away before colliding with the big Aussie. So a definite whack to absorb there.

The look on Kennedy’s face after the incident betrays that she, like the rest of us, is suspecting we’re due another long delay as the keeper receives treatment. Perhaps put the kettle on, as we could be in for a fair amount of stoppage time at the end of this one.

85 Mins: Needless to say, the numerous stoppages in play have served to sap all sense of momentum from the game. We’re now sort of trudging towards the final whistle, the heavy rain continuing to fall.

83 Mins: Yazdani is back on her feet and drives a goal kick long.

80 Mins: Yazdani has gone down holding her right shoulder after a corner but, for the life of me, I can’t see anything on the replay where any sort of injury to the keeper might have occurred. I don’t want to be uncharitable, so I’ll leave it at that.

79 Mins: The ground announcer announces tonight’s crowd as 22,398 on the Gold Coast. On what has been a sodden night, there’s a smattering of empty seats around the ground and google is telling me the venue holds 27,690 people.

Updated

78 Mins: Raso won’t need to exit the game after that hellacious falcon and rejoins the action to a large cheer from her hometown crowd.

76 Mins: Joe Montemurro doesn’t have any more substitutions up his sleeve but that won’t matter should Raso fail the concussion protocols – an extra substitution existing for such a scenario.

Updated

74 Mins: Oooooo. Ouch. Bloody ouch. A clearance from Khosravi goes straight into the face of Raso, catching her front on with no time to react and sending her instantly to the turf.

Updated

73 Mins: The newly introduced Catley swings a corner in from the left but it sails over the head of Sayer.

72 Mins: The Matildas make a couple of changes, Carpenter and Hunt making way for Steph Catley and Kaitlyn Torpey.

Annnnnd despite being stretchered off, Pasandideh is now back on her feet and awaiting her summons from the referee to return to the pitch.

70 Mins: Raso gets the ball to Sayer atop the penalty area but her attempts to find an avenue to get the ball to Siemsen are frustrated by a swarm of Iranian defenders.

Unfortunately, Pasandideh got her left leg folded up underneath her as Iran looked to play the ball out from the backline and has been taken off on a stretcher.

68 Mins: Raso and Sayer play a few passes between each other on the edge of the Iranian penalty area but the former’s attempts to let the ball run and open up an angle is met by a wall of white shirts.

Hunt tries another long-range effort soon after but it takes a touch and sails out for a corner that, too, comes to nothing.

65 Mins: Siemsen and Van Egmond combine in the box, with the latter marshalling the ball out for a corner on the left after the Iranian defence got a boot in.

The resulting set piece is high but ultimately dropped onto the head of an Iranian defender, leading to a clearance.

Updated

60 Mins: Three changes for the Matildas in the aftermath of the goal, Hayley Raso, Holly McNamara, and Remy Siemsen have all entered the fray, replacing Kerr, Foord, and Fowler.

Goal! Australia 4-0 Iran (Kennedy 58')

Kennedy has her second of the game, rising between Iranian defenders to guide a bouncing header inside the post and further stretch the Matildas’ lead.

She was picked out by a surgical delivery in from Van Egmond, who placed that ball exactly where it needed to be.

Updated

56 Mins: Another move into the penalty area for the Matildas ends with Carpenter winning a corner on the right.

The newly introduced Didar went down as she contested for a ball with the Chelsea defender and requires treatment before making her way off with the trainers – albeit she looks like she’ll be able to return.

55 Mins: Sara Didar becomes the latest Iranian to be inserted off the bench, her side’s fourth substitute.

Kerr rolls off her marker and fires a shot at goal from outside the box but Yazdani gets down to claim it.

51 Mins: A free kick sent in from the halfway line by Ghanbari spills out to Pasandideh at the top of the box, teeing her up to take Iran’s first shot of the game. The 21-year-old substitute, however, hooks her effort wide.

49 Mins: Carpenter winds up from a long way downtown and rockets a shot towards Yazdani but the newly introduced keeper is able to hold the ball.

47 Mins: After the referee checks the VAR monitor she agrees with Khosravi’s appeals and waves the penalty away.

Updated

46 Mins: A very early penalty to the Matildas!

But this one looks like it’s going to get ruled out, replays showing that the ball bounced off Khosravi’s body before collecting her arm as she moved to block Sayer’s pass, which shouldn’t be a spot kick.

46 Mins: After a bit of an extra delay – Hamoudi taking some extra time to join the other 21 players on the pitch – the second half is underway on the Gold Coast.

No changes for the Matildas but two for the Iranians: Raha Yazdani coming on to replace Yektaei between the posts and Zolfi coming off for Golnoosh Khosravi.

Updated

Have you ever wondered how the Asian Cup favourites fuel themselves after a big win? Wonder no longer, because the chef accompanying Nadeshiko Japan has given us this insight into their MD+1 meal: a meal built around Mapo tofu, Chawanmushi, and wonton soup.

HT: Australia 3-0 Iran

We weren’t expecting this to be a close game and, thanks to first-half goals from Sayer, Fowler, and Kennedy that’s not what we’re getting. If not for the most marginal of VAR-reviewed offsides it would be even more, too, with both Foord and Kerr falling afoul of the all-seeing eye in the sky during the opening stanza.

Nonetheless, the result never really being in doubt coming into this game meant the margin was only ever going to be one small part of the bigger picture of this game and, importantly for the Matildas, they’ve played some nice stuff in easing to their halftime lead.

There’s been some nice combination play in the final third against a packed defence, quick movement and switches in positioning across the attack, as well as some defined patterns of movement and possession that have on numerous occasions turned the Iranians around before they can get into their low block.

How Montemurro looks to build on this in the second half – in the wet conditions and with big games to come, one imagines several players will be on a hard-and-fast minutes limit – should be an entertaining watch.

Updated

45+5 Mins: Kerr again goes close! Foord finds herself in space on the right and drives a ball at chest high across the face of goal. Kerr, having sprinted into the box, throws a leg out at it but it slices wide of the post and goes out for a goal kick.

There’s chum in the water at Robina Stadium, and Kerr’s the Great White Shark.

45+4 Mins: Polar bear spotted in Arlington, Texas as Hunt finds herself in space outside the Iranian penalty area and laces an effort towards the bottom corner of the net. The Spurs defender, however, is denied by Yektaei getting down low to her right.

Kerr is picked out on the corner that results but her headed effort floats over the bar.

45 Mins: Between an injury delay and several long VAR checks, we’ve apparently done enough to require seven minutes of added time at the conclusion of this opening stanza.

44 Mins: Kerr has Australia’s fourth! Wait, no she doesn’t, it’s offside!

Kennedy lays the ball out to Foord on the right, who gets her head up and fires the ball into the near post searching for Kerr. On a tight angle and with a defender and the keeper to beat the Chelsea striker still has plenty of work to do but rises to the challenge, turning her effort around the corner and sneaking it inside the near post.

A VAR review, however, determines that Kerr was millimetres offside when Foord played the pass – denying her a second goal in as many games.

Updated

43 Mins: Now it’s the turn of Sayer to go close. Fowler directs a low cross in her direction form the right but she’s just unable to adjust in time to get behind it and prevent her effort from hooking just wide.

41 Mins: A change being made by the Iranians late in the first half, with Ramezanizadeh making way for Fatemeh Pasandideh. Not sure if that one was injury enforced or tactical – Ramezanizadeh didn’t look to be struggling as she came off.

40 Mins: How is it not 4-0? Van Egmond lays a pass off into the path of Carpenter, who in turn lays a ball across the face of goal looking for Kerr to tap home. It doesn’t reach the feet of her Chelsea teammate but does find Foord at the back-post, only for her close-range attempt, under some pressure from a defender, admittedly, to be lifted over the crossbar.

38 Mins: The Matildas continue to pile on the pressure, fashioning a series of chances.

Given the relative step-down in quality between the Philippines and Iran, more goals than last Sunday were always to be expected but at this stage it’s looking like the home side, if they can start to time their runs just a tad better and be a bit cleaner with their control in the wet conditions, could pick their score.

Goal! Australia 3-0 Iran (Kennedy 35')

The floodgates are starting to open and the Matildas are cruising.

A ball is swung in from the left and both Van Egmond and Kerr do their bit to keep the play alive before the latter lays the ball off for Kennedy, who has time and space to tee up half-volleyed blast that plants itself in the back of the net.

Updated

33 Mins: Play resumes and we almost have a third goal inside 20 seconds! Does an ‘I wasn’t ready’ rule exist? We might have found out had Carpenter’s furious run to the byline and cutback rolled to the feet of a Matildas teammate rather than empty space atop the Iranian six-yard-box.

32 Mins: Ok. More delays now as it appears the referees have had some kind of breakdown with their communication equipment.

Given how heavy the rain is, I hope somebody didn’t skimp out on the waterproof gear…

Goal! Australia 2-0 Iran (Fowler 27')

Fowler’s first start for the Matildas in 332 days has delivered a goal! And while it’s hardly the prettiest of strikes, very few, especially her, will care.

Foord finds space on the left and slices a ball into the penalty area, looking for the head of Kerr. It sails over the head of the Australian talisman and towards Yektaei but the Iranian keeper can’t control the ball, instead spilling it to her left.

Reacting quickly, Fowler lunges at it, getting her boot around marker Ramezanizadeh, and pokes it softly into the back of the net.

A lengthy VAR review subsequently confirms that the goal will stand, with play then further delayed as Yektaei receives treatment for a knock.

Updated

25 Mins: A cross in from the right spills out to Nevin in space but she gets her feet caught up underneath her as she attempts to shoot, leading to the danger quickly passing. The look of frustration on her face tells it all.

24 Mins: You can see that there’s a clear emphasis on the Matildas making triangles and utilising short, sharp passing to move the ball around the packed Iranian defence but, for now, the underdogs are holding strong when they need to.

22 Mins: Some more moments in possession for Iran but the Matildas eventually use the ball back and quickly move to transition up the field.

Well-organised defence by the side in white, however, blocks away Foord’s attempts to drive into the box and the Australians are forced to reset in possession.

20 Mins: For the first time, Iran uses their set piece to get the ball into the Matildas defensive third. It doesn’t amount to much, though, with Nevin leading the efforts to see off their attempted foray down the right.

18 Mins: Foord has the ball in the back of the net! That’s good. But the flag is also up. That’s bad. It’s going to a VAR review. That’s good. But the replay shows that the Arsenal attacker is indeed offside. That’s bad. Play resumes, sans potassium benzoate.

Updated

17 Mins: The Matildas are queuing up here; Chloe Lincoln is the only player inside their side of the pitch and most of the other 21 are inside the defensive third of the Iranians.

16 Mins: The Matildas get forward again and Foord lays the ball off for Sayer, who whips in a ball that takes a deflection off Imani as she attempts to clear and goes just wide of the post. The resulting corner is put onto the roof of the net by Van Egmond.

15 Mins: Play resumes and Kerr has another opportunity soon after, Fowler picking her out in space in the penalty area only for Imani to block her shot out for a corner.

The Iranians subsequently clear away the set piece.

12 Mins: A pause in play is required after Behesht goes down and requires some treatment to her left ankle. She limps off under her own power and while it looks as if she’ll be right to continue, we’ll await official confirmation.

11 Mins: It’s almost two! Van Egmond slides a surgical through ball for Kerr to run onto but her resulting shot, Yektaei charging her down, is lofted just wide over the bar.

Goal! Australia 1-0 Iran (Sayer 8')

A much-needed early breakthrough arrives and while I’m not quite sure how much she meant it, it’s come off the boot of Sayer! Carpenter goes on a barnstorming run up the right before flicking it across to Sayer near the touchline.

She cuts inside to create some space and whips a cross-cum-shot into the box that soars, like a candy wrapper caught in an updraft, over the head of Yektaei and nestles itself inside the far postQ

7 Mins: Some nice interplay between Nevin and Foord on the left springs the former into a yard of space to cut the ball back into a dangerous area but there’s nobody wearing black – Australia are in their away kits tonight – to meet it or ricochet off the Iranian’s first attempt to clear.

6 Mins: More possessional dominance from the Matildas but no further forays into dangerous areas; the Iranian defence, as expected, moving as a unit and clogging up the middle of the park.

3 Mins: Van Egmond steps up to take the free kick and tires to skid a low effort into the bottom corner but Yektaei gets down low to her left and smothers it before it can cross the line.

2 Mins: Good early signs of intent from Foord, who picks up the ball in the middle of the park, plays a one-two with Van Egmond, and wins a free kick in a dangerous area on the edge of the penalty area.

1 Mins: As expected, the Matildas take early control of possession and start knocking the ball around as Iran assume a their defensive shape.

Kick-Off

We are underway on the Gold Coast!

The Australian national anthem has been completed now, too. Kick-off is imminent.

So, after their lack of singing ahead of the first game made international headlines, the abrupt change of direction from these Iranian players for this fixture – and what was behind the change in thinking – has provided a talking point before a ball has even been kicked.

The Iranian national anthem plays first.

After being silent during the opening game against South Koreans, the players have instead greeted this evening’s rendition with salutes directed towards the flag of the Islamic Republic that has been brought out onto the pitch and, while I don’t speak Farsi, do appear to be singing the lyrics.

Updated

The Australian and Iranian players are making their way out onto the playing surface, kick-off is imminent on the Gold Coast.

Updated

It’s just a bit wet on the Gold Coast…

In a nice little bit of cross-promotion, Australian Formula One driver Oscar Piastri has appeared on the broadcast wishing the Matildas luck in the Women’s Asian Cup.

He’ll, of course, take to the Albert Park track this weekend for the first round of the new F1 campaign in Melbourne – the Guardian to bring you live coverage of both qualification and the race itself.

At least one international sporting event is happening in Melbourne this weekend…

Updated

Matildas coach Joe Montemurro is facing some questions on the broadcasts and points to the blessing of squad depth and the rapid turnaround to the South Korean game when quizzed on the five chances to his side.

Fowler, meanwhile, is being brought in to provide an extra layer of creativity in the side, citing the compact defences that have been demonstrated by lesser heralded sides across the tournament.

James Paraskevas on the emails. A bit harsher in his assessment of the last game than mine.

A very disappointing performance from the Matildas in the last game but they get a pass because it was only the first game of the tournament (and they won - just). Australians are happy with that! Unfortunately Iran will not probably not provide much of a test, so this is just another “hit out” for Australia in an over-expanded tournament. A better test will be against Korea in the last game, and of course from the first game of the knockouts onwards. Anyways enough said…Australia 6-0 (Sam Kerr hat-trick minimum). We will celebrate wildly until more genuine tests…

Not sure I’m in 100% agreement on the need for a heavy scoreline, that 8-0 hammering of the Philippines a few years ago didn’t auger a successful Olympics campaign, after all.

Given we’re still relatively fresh into the Montemurro and with bigger tests to come, I’m more after another step up in the side’s patterns of play and ability to fashion clear looks on goal against a low block.

Of course, that and a 6-0 win would be great…

So, plenty of rotation for the Matildas tonight.

Fowler’s return to the XI is the obvious standout, with her close control and movement across the final third something of a contrast to Raso’s more direct approach.

How she combines with Foord, Kerr and Van Egmond, who will assumedly be operating as the ten, will be very interesting to watch given that, of all the changes, her addition to the starters feels the one most likely to stick in the latter stages of the tournament.

Presumably coming into the midfield in place of Gorry, how Sayer shoulders the load of serving as the primary ball progressor in the midfield will also play a big role in how the Australians go in breaking down the Iranians.

Updated

It’s obviously going to case a shadow over tonight’s match so, as a reminder, The Guardian is bringing you live updates on the crisis in the Middle East.

“These women are prisoners,” says Cyrus Jones, a human rights activist who will be attending the match. “Iranian security is up on their floor [of the hotel] at night. They can’t leave their rooms. They can’t use the public bathrooms. They’re monitored when they go for breakfast, when they get on the bus. They’re monitored in a way no other players from other teams are.

Samantha Lewis has been following the journey of Iran’s women this tournament, and has penned this piece ahead of tonight’s game.

Sam has also been on the story of the AFC confiscating the credentials of Iranian-Australian journalist after asking questions on death of Ayatollah Khamenei at an official press conference – the only time Iran’s players have been available to speak to media – only for it to be subsequently reinstated.

Joe Montemurro said he wants the focus before his Australia women’s team’s Asian Cup match against Iran on Thursday to be on football, as the continental sporting showpiece wrestles with the escalating Middle East conflict.

Jack Snape was in Perth for the Matildas’ opening game win over the Philippines and got word from their coach about tonight’s game.

Iran XI

Three changes to the Iranian XI that were defeated by South Korea in their opening game.

Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, Mona Hamoudi, and Mohaddesh Zolfi come into the starters, replacing Afsaneh Chatrenoor, Zahra Sarbali, and Shahnaz Jafarizadeh.

Matildas XI

And here we go, the Matildas line-up is in, with five changes made to the side that defeated the Philippines.

Courtney Nevin and Charlie Rule come into the backline for Steph Catley and Wini Heatley, partnering Ellie Carpenter and Clare Hunt.

Amy Sayer and Alanna Kennedy come into the midfield for Clare Wheeler and Katrina Gorry, with Emily van Egmond retaining her position.

Mary Fowler will start from the opening kickoff, replacing Hayley Raso up to alongside Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr.

The Australia Associated Press’ George Clarke is on the Gold Coast tonight and has captured footage of a group of Iranian protestors singing pro-United States and pro-Israel chants ahead of tonight’s game.

Perhaps the biggest pre-game question facing the Matildas is who, exactly, is going to be part of the starting XI?

After the injury-enforced withdrawals of goalkeepers Teagan Micah and Jada Whyman on the eve of the tournament, presumptive number one Mackenzie Arnold was absent from the win over the Matildas, handing a major-tournament debut to the only just drafted-in Chloe Lincoln.

Word from on the ground on the Gold Coast that Arnold is likely to play in this game, which is probably for the best given that, being out-of-season with NWSL side Portland Thorns, she could use some live-action before facing off with South Korea.

Further up the pitch, Kyra Cooney-Cross is another absentee from the Philippines win that is shaping as getting her first minutes of the tournament, albeit one images that may come off the bench. Official broadcaster Network Ten, meanwhile, who tend to get the advanced word on these kinds of things, are reporting that Mary Fowler is set to start for Australia for the first time in 332 days and that we’re set for a shake-up in the backline.

Preamble

Howdy all, Joey Lynch here, and welcome to another round of the Guardian’s live coverage of the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, tonight bringing you all the action as the Matildas take on Iran at Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast. Or as Dragan Talajić called tonight’s host city after his Bahraini men stunned the Socceroos in a 2024 World Cup qualifier here, “The Golden City.”

The result of tonight’s contest doesn’t carry much in the way of uncertainty. The high-powered Matildas, ranked 15th in the world, should defeat their 68th-ranked opponents rather handily this evening, with the focus instead largely centered on just how they go about doing this. As while their principles of possession showed signs of promise against the Philippines in their opening 1-0 win, the hope will be that Joe Montemurro’s side can use that performance as a whetstone for a much more lethal edge against the Iranians.

Because while the 85% possession and 15 shots against the Filipinas were good, that they were accompanied by just the lone Sam Kerr goal left something to be desired. And with the stiffest test of their group stages to come on Sunday evening when they take on South Korea in Sydney, they’ll want to come into that one with some level of momentum – especially considering the Taegeuk Warriors put three past the Philippines in their Group A meeting earlier this afternoon.

The Shirzanan, meanwhile, will take the pitch once again with football serving as something almost something of a backdrop to a much larger, morose tale being told: the United States and Israel’s ongoing attack on Iran. The ongoing conflict ensures that their thoughts will be torn between the task at hand on the Gold Coast and their loved ones back home, a rising death toll amid a potential broadening of the war, and what future of their nation looks like.

The playing group have already made international headlines after not singing the official anthem of the Islamic Republic before their opening game defeat against South Korea and we already know there’s a plan for Iranian diaspora that opposes the current regime to make their presence known at the game this evening.

So, perhaps not a lot of intrigue surrounding the result itself, but plenty of other narratives and storylines that will line the path to the final whistle.

Kick-off is at 7pm local/8pm AEDT

Updated

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