The Women’s Asian Cup was a major success for Australian soccer, despite the Matildas’ heartbreaker

There was a lot of talk about winning trophies in the lead-up to the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup final, in which the Matildas were narrowly defeated by Japan 1–0 in Saturday night’s final.

It was the third time Australia had met Japan in the final and represented the last chance for this golden generation to win a major tournament on home soil.

The result, which mirrored the 2014 and 2018 Women’s Asian Cup finals, was another case of so near yet so far for the Matildas.

The team has won hearts and minds but not since 2010 trophies.

So what did we learn? And where do we go from here?

The tournament was an objective success

Despite suggestions Matildas mania was waning, the metrics told another story.

More than 200,000 people attended matches in Sydney, Perth and the Gold Coast.

For the final at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, 74,397 people turned up – the largest crowd in Women’s Asian Cup history.

In making the top four, the Matildas qualified for the 2027 Women’s World Cup to be held in Brazil.

Winning trophies is difficult – hosting was strategic

Australians have high expectations for their sporting teams.

But winning trophies is difficult, as evidenced by the fact major trophies have to date eluded the Matildas’ golden generation.

Understood best in retrospect, the Matildas’ 2010 Women’s Asian Cup win was momentous. It was just the team’s second time competing in the Asian confederation tournament and marked the first time an Australian team – women’s or men’s – had won the trophy.

That early Women’s Asian Cup success – finishing runners-up in 2006 and champions in 2010 – inadvertently sent a message that being crowned Asian champions was a straightforward thing.

But anything less than a trophy does not necessarily equate to a loss.

The Women’s Asian Cup is just one step in the Matildas’ and Australian women’s soccer’s plan, which will benefit not just the national team but girls and women playing at the grassroots.

The strategy

Just one player, Sam Kerr, remains from that 2010 team (Tameka Yallop missed the 2026 tournament with a hamstring injury).

The Matildas have been relying on the golden generation to carry the nation’s hope for more than a decade. Ensuring there will be more Sam Kerrs is crucial.

Which is why Australia’s bid to host the 2026 tournament was strategic.

Soccer is the most popular sport for girls and women in Australia, and experienced a boost after the Matildas’ barnstorming 2023 Women’s World Cup campaign.

Continuing to inspire the next generation of girls and women by normalising participating in, attending and viewing major women’s soccer events in integral.

But a post-tournament influx of players and fans is only good if the infrastructure, systems and pathways are in place to accommodate and retain them.

So, in addition to providing a chance for Australia to both compete for a trophy and gain invaluable experience leading into the 2027 Women’s World Cup, bidding to host the Asian Cup represented an opportunity to do three crucial things.

First, apply pressure to increase resourcing for women’s soccer domestically, particularly for the languishing A-League Women’s and to support grassroots infrastructure.

Second, demonstrate the 2023 World Cup’s success wasn’t a one-off, and signal to media and sponsors that the Matildas are influential on and off the pitch, and the women’s sports fanbase and market is there.

Third, remind us that women’s soccer is playing the long game. Trophies will remain highly sought-after but the rarity of winning them will arguably magnify their value. They’re one piece of the puzzle.

As former Matilda turned administrator Sarah Walsh indicated, the narrow metrics on which women’s soccer are judged are rarely applied to men’s sport.

To focus on bums on seats ignores the systemic and gender inequality women’s soccer faces.

Barriers to participation and retention remain, including unsuitable and uncomfortable uniforms, compounded by period anxiety and stigma. The attrition rate for girls and women playing sport is also too high and the small number of women coaches is only now starting to be addressed through quotas.

It was no accident Japan was again in the Women’s Asian Cup final. It’s a team that has focused on long-term development and regeneration, including a 50-year plan that concentrates on steadily increasing grassroots participation rates, improving national team rankings and hosting and winning a World Cup by 2050.

Japan’s approach recognises trophies are a byproduct of strategic investment and development.

So while winning silverware would have been great, the Matildas’ second-place finish is still really good.

A work in progress

Just as with the 2023 World Cup, the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup hosting and results can be viewed as part of women’s soccer’s trajectory.

That is, the Matildas and their impact – encapsulated with the “‘til it’s done” edict that signals the long-term approach it will require – can be considered a work in progress.