Matildas v Chile: international football friendly – live! | Football

38 min: Solid claim from the ‘keeper, and the danger in averted. A slight lull in play after a frenetic few minutes. Australia again with patient possession – it’s very much another cat-and-mouse contest like we saw in Sydney a few days ago.

36 min: A moment’s concern as Chile get bodies in the box centrally, but Carpenter defends well and sparks a tremendous counter-attack. A few “lusty” tackles from Chile trying to prevent the fast transition, but Kerr skips clear of one, and it ends with a deflected drive from deep by Yallop!

Corner, Matildas.

33 min: Calm at the back from Polkinghorne who looks to initiate something from deep.

Ante Milicic is at the touchline barking instructions – hard to know if he’s more impressed with this performance thus far. It has appeared a little static at times again.

31 min: A lovely drive from deep from Harrison – she sees a gap and pins the ears before firing off a shot that just flies to the righthand side of Campos’ goal.

30 min: Great work-rate from Carpenter, who has to recover as Chile looks to get in behind the advanced fullback, but she’s got both the pace and the fitness to do so, and snuff out a possible attack.

28 min: What can Chile come up with now? The game plan would have no doubt been to stay compact and then look to become more aggressive as the game went on – but with that early-ish goal, will they look to come out of their shells a little?

25 min: Almost two in as many minutes, as Ellie Carpenter leans back over a shot – but she blazes high! The home crowd loving this – it’s been a dominant few minutes from the Matildas.

And there’s the opener! It’s a fine throughball from Sam Kerr who drops deep to receive the ball – she lays it out to Gielnik and she’s left with only a fine acute angle to aim at.

So unfortunate for the stand-in ‘keeper Campos – the shot takes a tiny deflection and flicks past her hands at the near post.

22 min: Kennedy looks to release Catley with a raking long ball forward, and the Chilean backline again scrambles to prevent the ball into Kerr. Foord with a good turn in the lead up but she can’t find her partner in crime.

18 min: A bit of tugging in back play as Chloe Logarzo is shown a yellow card for a coming together in back play with Lopez.

A curious one, it did appear the Chilean midfielder initiated that foul, but it was the Matilda who perhaps threw an arm to get free. A bit both ways, in truth.

16 min: Skipper for the night, Araya, fires an effort goalwards from long range, but she drags her shot well passed William’s righthand post. A good opportunity, and she throws her head back in disappointment.

15 min: Gielnik lashes an effort goalwards off a Catley cross, but she’s skied the difficult effort. Again, a warning sign – when she’s in a mood she’s a very tricky customer, the Bayern Munich forward. What a few seasons she’s had.

12 min: Chile pressing a bit higher, putting pressure on the Matildas’ back four and ‘keeper, which sees Williams encouraged into a trickier ball that Carpenter miscontrols.

It’s a good strategy, just a question of how long they can keep it up against a very fit Matildas outfit.

9 min: Araya with a cheeky chipped effort from 30m out. Worth a look with Williams off her line, but she doesn’t quite find the range. That’s the threat that Chile pose – they’re technically very proficient, and as we say at the World Cup, accomplished defenders, who will look to hit quickly on the counter-attack.

8 min: Strong work from Yallop who rides a tackle to release Carpenter. The right back feeds Gielnik who fires in a tricky cross that is deflected closer past her own sticks than the Chilean defender Saez would have liked!

Corner Australia, but it’s well defended.

6 min: Catley looks for Kerr with a right-footed cross from the left, but the last line of defence just prevents it from finding the goalscoring machine. A warning sign for Chile, if they needed one, as to her danger.

4 min: It’s Tameka Yallop screening the back four at the base of midfield – a new role for the hugely gifted and versatile midfielder who normally plays a little further forward. No Elise Kellond-Knight in this squad, and Aivi Luik rested from the game a few days ago.

3 min: Carpenter again the attacking threat down the right, and she earns a corner. No! Our NZ whistleblower says no, to the surprise of the Matildas. It did appear Chile got a last touch.

A first touch for Lydia Williams in goal, as Chile look to go long, but the veteran ‘keeper sweeps, and sweeps well.

1 min: It’s another flying start from the Matildas, and no surprise they look for the flying Ellie Carpenter early on, but the Chilean defence anticipates the danger and cuts out her cross.

Our players are out the tunnel, on the pitch and we’re ready for anthems. A decent Chilean contingent in the stadium tonight – let’s hope they find something to cheer about tonight amid a difficult political climate back home.

A lovely rendition of Advance Australia Fair, and the Matildas peel off much needed jackets amid a brisk atmosphere in Adelaide.

Interesting also will be to see how Caitlin Foord and Sam Kerr combine again up front tonight. The almost telepathic duo had their radar a little awry in Sydney. It didn’t stop the skipper still banging a brace, but it was one of the areas Ante Milicic would have liked no doubt to have worked on between games.

Australia, for all their obvious attacking talent were looking a little predictable at times, can Foord be the X-factor tonight?

A decent crowd trickling in at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide – a first time in over a dozen years the people of South Australia have had a chance to watch the Matildas in person. What a bumper year football in SA is already having, what with a heroic FFA Cup run for Adelaide United.

A big game for Amy Harrison – the talented youngster who burst through at Sydney FC only to undergo a horrific run of injuries, including the odd ACL. She’s still just 23 (which is almost veteran status compared to some of her teammates) but you really sense a huge maturation in her game in recent years, especially since her NWSL debut season.

Straight to team news:

Australia:

Four changes to the lineup a few days ago – Alanna Kennedy returns in the centre of defence, Amy Harrison makes a rare start in midfield, Tameka Yallop comes in for Emily van Egmond and Emily Gielnik gets the nod ahead of Hayley Raso.

Williams (GK), Carpenter, Kennedy, Polkinghorne, Catley; Harrison, Yallop, Logarzo; Gielnik, Kerr (c), Foord

Katrina Gorry and Karly Roestbakken also return to a bench that’s a little deeper than it was in Sydney.

Chile:

The big news is no Christiane Endler, Chile’s talis(wo)manic skipper in goals; she’s had to dash back to France for a crucial match for her domestic club Paris Saint Germain. Eight-cap understudy Natalia Campos comes in for her – a big night for her.

Hi all! A cordial greeting to you and yours, from wherever you’re following our coverage tonight. A big shoutout to our east coast followers – our thoughts are with you during this unprecedented bushfire threat, stay safe and be considerate to each other in your communities.

Tonight is however about the Matildas, and we’re in Adelaide to see if sam Kerr and pals can repeat the treat against Chile.