Two home tournaments, no trophies: Matildas might have missed their window of opportunity

March 21, 2026 — 9:45pm

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The streets won’t forget these Matildas. They’ve changed Australia, in both the way we see ourselves and the way the world sees us. They’ve inspired hundreds, thousands, millions, and in as many different ways. They’ve captured hearts and minds and created memories and moments that will last a lifetime, maybe longer.

You could mount an argument that these things matter more than trophies - and in a way, if you think really hard about it, you might be a little bit right. But you also know that’s not how this works, and that’s exactly why this hurts so much.

The end of an era has arrived: tomorrow, probably, begins the slow break-up of this golden generation, of perhaps the greatest collection of individual footballers, male or female, that this country has ever assembled.

We’re just going to have to remember them as one of the best teams never to win something.

This Women’s Asian Cup was supposed to fix that wrinkle in the universe. That was almost the whole point of having it here. It was wrong that Kerr, Foord, Catley et al did not have a legacy-defining piece of silverware to call their own. They wanted it badly, and we wanted it for them just as much, so we organised for this to happen and we........

© Brisbane Times