Emma KempUpdated June 6, 2026 — 10:03pm,first published 6:45pm10.03pmMATCH REPORT: Matildas fall 1-0 in first friendly against MexicoBy Frances HoweThe Matildas have lost 1-0 in a friendly match against Mexico in Newcastle, in a manner revealing just how much work even the most experienced Matildas side must do ahead of next year’s World Cup.Ellie Carpenter, who wore the captain’s armband in front of a capacity crowd of 23,167 at McDonald Jones Stadium for her 100th international, was celebrated ahead of kick-off alongside teammates Alanna Kennedy (for reaching 150 matches) and Emily van Egmond, now the most-capped Australian footballer. But even with all the pre-match accolades, the veterans could not convert against a young and hungry Mexican team who quelled Australia’s few chances and managed to convert one of their own in the 92nd minute.Joe Montemurro had devised this test against a Latin American nation for his team ahead of the 2027 tournament in Brazil, now only a year away. He had warned Mexico – undefeated since 2024 – were better than their world No.28 ranking. He may not have expected the challenge to prove quite this difficult for his 15th-ranked side.Had the Matildas finished the match the way they’d started, Montemurro would have left the first of this two-match friendly series satisfied they could play the possession-based style of football he so desperately wants.9.33pmThat was a frustrating watchBy Sometimes static, sometimes encouraging, but always – as Foord acknowledged after the game – missing the final ball. “The final pass just wasn’t there,” she said. “That’s something we need to be better at going into the next game.”That next game is on Tuesday night, at Sydney’s Commbank Stadium. We’ll back to blog that, too. In the more immediate future, we’ll also be live blogging the Socceroos’ last World Cup warm-up against Mexico. Kick-off is tomorrow (Sunday) at 5am AEST. So get to it, you early birds. I’ll be there.In the meantime, thanks for joining us, and keep an eye out for Frances Howe’s Matildas match report, which we’ll post to the top of this blog shortly.Ciao for now.9.19pmFowler: Mexico ‘exposed’ Matildas defenceBy “Disappointed to [concede] a goal at the end but we had enough changes to finish the game ourselves,” she says.“It’s all good practice for the World Cup. It’s good to verse teams like this who will challenge us in different ways. Individually they’re very technical. They’re a counter-attacking team. It exposed a bit of our defence tonight.”9.12pmFulltime: Australia 0-1 MexicoBy Mexico defeat Matildas for second time in 12 meetings.9.11pmMexico break the deadlock!By It’s in the nick of time, too – two minutes into a three-minute stoppage-time period. Ordonez makes it count this time, with a close-range finish.Australia 0-1 Mexico after 90+2 minutes9.08pmArnold denies MexicoBy The goalkeeper has her wits about her – and she needs to in the face of a fast-approach Corral. Corral unleahes her shot near the edge of the penalty area and Arnold dives to her left, gloves outstretched, to parry the ball away.Australia 0-0 Mexico after 88 minutes9.03pmMore Australia subs are comingBy A penny for Montemurro’s thoughts.Getty ImagesAustralia 0-0 Mexico after 84 minutes8.54pmWould you like a stats update?By Of course you would. It’s nil-nil with 15 left to play. What could be causing this stalemate? Is it Australia’s 63 per cent possession? Is it their 16 shots to Mexico’s six? It’s probably not that, given only three of those Matildas shots are on target (compared to Mexico’s two).It is instructive that the Matildas have had 40 touches in the opposition box while Mexico have had only 12. And this might be one of those occasions where a coach tells media after the game that his or her team “dominated”. And then we might wade into the debate about how much currency domination has in football when it does not result in a goal (answer: none). But this is a friendly, after all, so there are always lessons and takeaways.Australia 0-0 Mexico after 75 minutesSam Kerr shows her frustration.Getty Images8.47pmAustralia on the upBy Raso’s first touch is a chance. Then a free kick gives Torpey a chance, before Foord gives Kerr a chance. Raso and Kerr combine for another Raso chance, and Fowler sets up van Egmond to shoot too high. It’s all happening, baby. It’s all happening and it’s not happening, because the score remains scoreless.Mexico, meanwhile, have made substitutions, with Saldivar making way for Corral, and Soto and Ordonez also getting some game time.For Australia, Charlie Rule is on as Catley takes her leave.Australia 0-0 Mexico after 67 minutesRaso makes an immediate impact.Getty Images8.42pmMexico miss a sitter!By Oh my, that will stay with Salvidar. The youngster has the ball at her feet at close range. Everything before this moment has led to this moment. Carpenter had been dispossessed, Catley had failed to clear Mexico’s subsequent long ball, and a one-on-one with Arnold beckoned. And she shanks her shot both high and wide. Crazy scenes. Lucky for Australia.Montemurro makes his first change of the night, with Raso coming on to replace Sayer, which probably means Fowler dropping back into the No.10 role and Raso slotting in on the right.Australia 0-0 Mexico after 60 minutes1 of 3