Will Catley, Raso play? Does China have the Matildas’ measure? What to watch for in semi-final clash

March 17, 2026 — 8:59am

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The Matildas will play in a second semi-final of an international tournament in just three years on Tuesday night. As hosts of the 2023 World Cup, it was a loss to England. This time, it is China standing between them and a spot in the Asian Cup final. Here’s a look at the match in Perth.

Will Catley and Raso play?

Most speculation has revolved around whether two of Australia’s stalwarts have recovered from concussions and fit to face China. Winger Hayley Raso sat out the last two games after two head knocks late in the 4-0 win over Iran, while vice-captain and left-back Steph Catley withdrew early in the group-stage draw with South Korea and has not been seen since. “They’ve cleared all the relative protocols and are in the squad for tomorrow,” Montemurro confirmed on Monday, though would not reveal their chances of actually playing.

Do China have Australia worked out?

Their coach does, probably better than any other rival. Australian Ante Milicic coached the Matildas at the 2019 World Cup and knows the strengths and weaknesses of the eight remaining players from that squad. That includes the headline attacking trio of Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler and Caitlin Foord, who have been heavily marked all tournament. But Milicic also has emphasised China’s attacking prowess.

“They’ve [Australia’s attacking players] played together for a long time, and they’ve also played consistently in Europe at a top level, so we understand tomorrow defensively we’re going to have to be very strong,” he said. “And I think we’ve shown that we can do that as well. But at the same time, we can’t come in with the mindset of just thinking ‘how we will contain Australia’s attacking threats’. We’ve shown that, going forward, we can also cause difficulties for the opposition, so we definitely have to get that done right.”

Will Fowler start again?

Mary Fowler has played a lot of minutes for somebody still in the early stages of returning from an ACL tear. The 23-year-old attacker has started all but one of Australia’s four matches for a total of 241 minutes within two weeks. Before that, she had only played 77 minutes for Manchester City, across two fixtures over a month. Montemurro would not be drawn on any details of his planned starting XI, but you wonder if Raso’s return might offer the option of holding Fowler back as an impact player off the bench?

Is more anti-Montemurro football on the cards?

That seems unlikely if the Matildas can control the game enough to return to the possession-based philosophy Australia’s coach is known for against defending champions China. The Matildas previous two fixtures, against South Korea and North Korea, were noteworthy for Australia’s failure to dictate the tone and tempo. And while the Matildas prevailed 2-1 in Friday’s quarter-final with the latter, they had less than 40 per cent possession and a measly four shots on goal compared to North Korea’s 21.

“It’s probably been the emotion and the moments ... that we haven’t been probably brave enough to control the ball,” Montemurro said. “And as you all know, my way of thinking is with the ball. We feel that we’re probably playing a team that is very, very well-structured and organised, so it’s going to be really us understanding the moments with the ball and making the right decisions. That’s been the message going into this game. I’m looking forward to it because the last two games have been … interesting.”

And if the Matildas win?

The final awaits, against either Japan or South Korea. Those sides play on Wednesday night in Sydney, with Japan fancied to progress to Saturday night’s decider. A win for the Matildas against China will secure their place in the big one. That’d mean a flight to Sydney on Wednesday, with all eyes on what would be their most difficult task of this Asian Cup. A first trophy in 16 years would be there for the taking.

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