Sam Kerr's header helps Australia edge Philippines in the Women’s Asian Cup opener

It was the 32-year-old Kerr's 70th goal for Australia and a welcome return from a long-term knee injury that has prevented her from playing for the Matildas since the 2023 World Cup.

The crowd of 44,379 was a record for the tournament and something of a tribute to Kerr, who was raised in Perth.

The Australians went into the tournament hoping to relive the atmosphere generated during the Women's World Cup on home soil almost three years ago, when the Matildas shattered audience records on the way to the semifinals.

It wasn't all one-way, though. Australia had 85% of possession, had 15 shots on goal and completed 674 passes to 118 for Philippines, but wasn't able to break down the defense.

Hayley Raso appeared to give Australia a 2-0 lead when she found the back of the net on the half-hour but it was disallowed for offside following a VAR review.

Goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel was heavily involved for Philippines, helping limit the margin against the team considered a strong favorite to top a group also containing 2022 runner-up South Korea and Iran.

Kerr played the full game and Australia also had a positive return from Mary Fowler, who went on in the 68th minute in a long-awaited return from injury for the Matildas.

“I think I’m just finding my confidence again,” Kerr said in a post-game TV interview. "I guess that’s for other people to judge, but I feel like I’m still my normal self.

“I’ve just got to get more touches in, around the box.”

Australia hasn't won the continental title since 2010, losing the finals to Japan in 2014 and ‘18 and eliminated in the semifinals four years ago. This is Kerr’s fifth Asian Cup campaign and she's determined to win it again.

“Today was a good start and there’s lots of belief within the team,” Kerr said. “But, as you see today, there’s a lot of quality teams in the Asian Cup.”

Iran's involvement

Iran opens Monday against South Korea. At a scheduled pregame news conference Sunday on the Gold Coast in Queensland state, Iran head coach Marziyeh Jafari declined to comment on the military strikes or death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“I don’t think we should talk about these matters at all right now,” Jafari said in comments translated to English. “There’s a team here for a very important competition that matters to these women and I think those should be the questions.”

Iran captain Zahra Ghanbari said her squad was in Australia with the target of qualifying for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

“The mindset of all our players and our team is that, God willing, we can get out of our group," she said. "Our entire focus is on getting to the World Cup and achieving great success there.”

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