Matildas shot-stopper Mackenzie Arnold is adamant she is not simply assuming she will start in goal in Australia’s Women’s Asian Cup opener despite fellow custodian Teagan Micah’s injury.
The goalkeeper battle loomed as one of the most intriguing narratives of the pre-tournament training camps in Perth, with Micah having started four of coach Joe Montemurro’s eight games in charge up to this point to Arnold’s three.
But after Micah withdrew from the tournament due to concussion, Arnold is the expected No.1 choice for the Matildas ahead of Sunday’s tournament-opening clash with The Philippines at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Not that Arnold, who immortalised herself in Australian sporting folklore after her performance in the Matildas’ dramatic Women’s World Cup quarter-final penalty shoot-out win over France, sees it that way.
“Honestly, there’s not been any conversation about that. We’ve never really had a conversation about that leading in to any major tournament,” Arnold said.
“Whoever plays, plays. They’re going to be able to do the job anyway. We’re all here for a reason.
“If you even look at the World Cup, that was my first year starting as the starting goalkeeper, and you’ve just got to take each game as it comes.
“I don’t think your position is ever a certain spot — unless maybe if you’re Sam Kerr — but it’s very different with the goalkeeper position, we’ve always been in very heavy competition, and we’ve known that.
“I especially take each game as it comes, never get too far ahead of myself.”
Australia’s last two games before the tournament were a pair of comprehensive wins over New Zealand as Montemurro’s style began to really come to the fore.
Despite the coach only taking over the role mid-last year, Arnold said the team’s familiarly with Montemurro, extending back to their days in the A-League Women when he was Melbourne City coach, helped the adjustment.
“A lot of the girls had Joe growing up. Everyone is quite familiar with him,” she said.
“It’s very clear what he wants to do and how he wants to play. More time is always going to be ideal, but I think in the grand scheme of things, it’s something that we’re used to, something that we’ve always had to adapt to.
“We’ve adapted great, we’ve all come together and I think the Asian Cup is going to be the start of our best football.”
The last time the Matildas played The Philippines at Optus Stadium back in 2023 as the afterglow of the World Cup was still vibrant, they cruised to an 8-0 win.
The shine of that tournament has worn off, thanks in part to a disappointing Olympics campaign, which saw Australia dumped out of the group stage, but Arnold said the squad would embrace the expectations which came with being the host nation at a major tournament.
“The level of competition in every federation has risen. Women’s football globally is getting better and better each year. Looking back on the Philippines game a couple years ago, there’s a whole different playing style,” she said.
“There’s always going to be pressure surrounding a home tournament, but we try and keep that internal. We know what we can do, we know what we expect of each other.
“Coming off the Olympics, it probably wasn’t our most successful campaign, and we know that. There’s expectations, but in terms of pressure, we block that out and just keep it internal.”
