The Matildas celebrated a 2-0 victory against China in a thrilling women's international football friendly on Monday. The match, held at Sydney's Accor Stadium, saw a packed crowd of 76,798 spectators cheering on the home team.
The game was particularly significant as it marked China's first trip abroad under the new manager, Ante Milicic. The friendly followed a 1-1 draw in Adelaide on May 31, with Australia securing their first win of the series with a decisive performance.
A standout moment of the evening was the pre-game ceremony honoring Lydia Williams, Australia's 36-year-old goalkeeper and longest-serving Matildas player, who announced her retirement from international football after the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
Australia's offensive strategy paid off, with Clare Wheeler scoring a header in the 48th minute and Hayley Raso sealing the win with an unstoppable shot in the 56th minute. Despite eight attacking attempts, only two were on target, with China's goalkeeper Xu Huan keeping Australia's shots at bay in the first half.
In the post-game press conference, China's star forward Wang Shuang highlighted the team's efforts under Milicic. \"Our manager has been telling us to be brave and dare to play, to make short passes, to dribble, and to go one-on-one. You can see our young players trying to do that in both games. In this mentality part, they made the biggest improvements during this camp, and we showed something,\" Wang remarked.
Milicic expressed satisfaction with his team's defensive structure and potential for improvement. \"With their mentality and their discipline, there's already a good strong platform, and now it's up for us to just keep working the way we're going. I'm very pleased with actually a little bit of progress that we've made in two weeks, and we'll definitely continue to build from this,\" he concluded.
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Australia beat China in women's international football friendly
cgtn.com
