Australia’s winning run of chances turned into a bruising 1-0 loss on Saturday night, with Mexico’s Diana Ordonez scoring in the 92nd minute to beat the Matildas in Newcastle. Mackenzie Arnold was left helpless as the world no.27 side stunned world no.15 Australia with one late finish.
The result answered the question that mattered most for everyone searching australia vs mexico: who decided it. Ordonez did, and she did it after a match Australia had controlled in patches but failed to finish. Sam Kerr took three of the Matildas’ four shots on goal, a frustrating night for the striker and for a team that could not turn its best moments into a goal.
Joe Montemurro did not hide from that. He said the Matildas played some of their best soccer since he took over a year ago, and he was right about the stretch that opened the match. Australia dominated possession in the first 15 minutes and tried to push Mexico back, but the pressure rarely became a clean chance. Montemurro wants this side to become a possession-based, high-pressing team, and at times that shape was visible.
The problem was the same one that has followed Australia through much of 2026. Before this trip to Newcastle, the Matildas had scored 19 goals in nine matches, including 4-0 against Iran, 5-0 against Malawi and 2-0 against Kenya. They had looked sharp enough to win by margin, and earlier this year they still missed topping their Asian Cup group on goal difference. The attack can create a picture of control; it has not yet guaranteed a final touch.
That is why Montemurro’s postmatch defense landed with a harder edge than the result itself. He said simply that the team did not score goals, and that remains the blunt truth behind a night that should have been more than a narrow defeat. Australia’s build-up can now carry them into territory, but unless the final pass, run and decision improve in the attacking third, the possession will keep looking better than the scoreline. The next step for Montemurro is not about promise. It is about turning that territorial control into a finish before another late goal decides the game for someone else.
