Australia v New Zealand: women’s international football friendly – live

8.59am GMT 18 mins: New Zealand have been energised by conceding an early goal. They are putting on the pressure and testing Arnold and her backline properly for the first time. Foster takes corner for New Zealand but Carpenter and comrades clean things up. 8.57am GMT 16 mins: New Zealand’s Brown makes a run down the right and gets off a nice cross which is dealt with easily by Heatley. 8.55am GMT Goal! Australia 1-0 New Zealand (Sayer, '12) Lovely free kick from on the half-way line over the top of the defence. The defensive header puts the ball at Gorry’s feet and she calmly sets up Sayer to her left who takes a breath and sends it smoothly past the goalkeeper. 8.53am GMT 12 mins: Foord unleashes Carpenter on the right but play is brought back for a Matildas free kick in the centre. Probably should have been allowed to play on there. Carpenter as usual looks fierce with the ball at her feet. 8.50am GMT 10 mins: A bit of back and forth in the Ferns half here. Australia seem happy to just take their time, pouncing on the counter-attack as we know they love to do. 8.49am GMT 8 mins: Australia regain some composure working out from the back again. A through ball finds Foord who flicks it on beautifully to Raso with clear air to goal. Raso curls the ball past the far post. She definitely had time to take another touch there, that was a big missed chance. 8.47am GMT 6 mins: Kerr is apparently experiencing calf tightness and did not warm up at all. Gorry loses possession in the midfield and gives up a free kick. Both teams are applying feverish pressure in these opening minutes. 8.45am GMT 4 mins: Sayer finds Raso just outside the 18-yard box but she can’t find a way through. 8.43am GMT 2 mins: Australia start by taking their time passing it around the back before a poor pass finds the feet of a New Zealand player. They push quickly and have a chance with some scrambling around the 18-yard box before Foord and Van Egmond go on the counter. The push amounts to nought in the end. 8.40am GMT Kick-off Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! 8.32am GMT It’s time for the pyrotechnic show at Gosford, the players are in the tunnel, squeals of excitement are being elicited from the MC. Updated at 8.33am GMT 8.30am GMT 8.25am GMT Overshadowing the Matildas’ return home is the dire state of the domestic league. As Sam Lewis explains, the A-League Women has stagnated and its players are the lowest-paid professional athletes in the country, according to a report from earlier this month. Related: A-League Women reaches ‘tipping point’ as scathing report highlights stagnation Add to that the recent discussions around fixtures in international windows and things look rather bleak. The ALW is the only professional league to continue playing during this international window, mostly due to its upcoming extended pause during the Asian Cup. 8.22am GMT Weather report! It’s a lovely 24C on the New South Wales Central Coast this evening. Looks delightful in Gosford. 8.19am GMT New Zealand XI Here's how we start in Gosford 🇳🇿⚔️🇦🇺▶️ Watch live and free on TVNZ and FIFA+ from 9:30PM NZT at https://t.co/pWYNPd5zzA pic.twitter.com/g7TjKO257c— New Zealand Football 🇳🇿 (@NZ_Football) November 28, 2025 8.19am GMT Looks like Kerr is not willing to risk anything in the warmup! 8.17am GMT Steph Catley will move to the centre of defence with Courtney Nevin coming into the starting XI at left back. A big test for Nevin before Asian Cup selection. 8.14am GMT Australia XI STARTING XI 🗒Here's how we line up for our game against New Zealand in Gosford! 👊#Matildas #AUSvNZL #FeelNewSouthWales pic.twitter.com/8wB9PjYDVI— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) November 28, 2025 8.13am GMT The Kerr question…? Matildas captain Sam Kerr has been on a lighter training load since landing in camp and also missed her last two club games for Chelsea. It appears that her knee is still giving her trouble even after that very long recovery period. Kerr and coach Joe Montemurro have indicated that she will decide how many minutes she plays against the Football Ferns. Obviously fans will be eager to see the striker given it would be the first time she has played at home in two years. Updated at 8.13am GMT 8.05am GMT With these two friendlies the last hitout before the Asian Cup in March much focus is on whether the Matildas can pull together a strong tilt at the title. But in other sectors of the Australian football landscape some are paying closer attention to waning levels of interest in the Matildas since the 2023 World Cup phenomenon. My colleague Jack Snape has taken a look at how things have shifted since the Matildas became Australia’s favourite sporting team. Related: Matildas bubble not burst yet, claims Asian Cup chief, as big venues approach sell-outs 8.00am GMT Preamble Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the international friendly between Australia and New Zealand in Gosford. I’m Jo Khan and I’ll be taking you through the pre-game news, minute-by-minute play report and into some reactions. Kick-off at Polytec Stadium is 7.30pm AEDT, or 9.30pm if you are over the ditch. Please send your comments or questions through to me at jo.khan@theguardian.com. Let’s get into it!