Van Egmond: Matildas out to make a statement

Matildas midfield maestro Emily van Egmond says Australia are out make a statement in Jordan and finish what they started after losing to Japan in the previous Asian Cup Final.

After winning the Asian Cup in 2010, the Matilda’s looked on track to go back to back four years later in Vietnam but narrowly lost the final to Japan 1-0.

With Australia taking on South Korea in the first game of the 2018 Asian Cup on Sunday morning Van Egmond told FourFourTwo the Matildas are eager to finish the job in Jordan.

“We came runner up in 2014 and so we are here definitely to make a statement and to back our own ability and to show Australia how good we can be," she said.

The Matildas have done well against South Korea in recent tournaments beating their Group opponents in the Brazil Olympic Qualifiers and in the semi-final of the previous Asian Cup.

But van Egmond said Australia will not be taking their opponents lightly.

“All women’s football is on the rise and it’s a big game,” she said. “South Korea is a very good team and they will be a very big challenge for us.

“If we can concentrate on ourselves and play the best that we can, we should definitely be going into the match with confidence and belief in our ability.”

After a record breaking unbeaten run that included winning the Tournament of Nations - their first silverware since the 2010 Asian Cup, van Egmond said the Matildas are hungry for more success.

“We’re still learning and growing together as a team,” she said. “Coming into the Asian Cup we have worked really hard and we’ve had a good couple of weeks before coming here in Perth.

“We played Thailand which was good to get an international game under our belt. We’ve all come off the back of the W-League season so we’re all raring to go.

"We’re all very excited to be here in Jordan and we can’t wait for the tournament to start.

“Obviously when you win you have success, success adds pressure. But the most important thing is our first game against South Korea and we know that it going to be a difficult and challenging game for us.

“But it’s a game that we are going to go into positively. We believe in our ability, we’ve proven that we can show Australia what we can do.

"We’re just raring to go and I can’t wait until Saturday.”

Picture source: Sam Anfield

Westfield Matildas Match Schedule

Saturday, 7 April

Westfield Matildas v Korea Republic

King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman

Kick off 8pm local time (Sunday, 8 April, 3am AEST)

Tuesday, 10 April

Vietnam v Westfield Matildas

Amman International Stadium, Amman

Kick off 8pm local time (Wednesday, 11 April, 3am AEST)