CommBank Matildas defender Alanna Kennedy expressed her excitement at taking on Switzerland on Saturday morning (AEDT), a side that Australia has never played before.
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She was speaking to Football Australia Media ahead of the historic clash.
“It’s interesting that we’ve never played each other before – that’s exciting!” she said.
“They’ve obviously got a major tournament coming up so it’s an important time for them.
“For us, it’s important that we focus on ourselves, and getting back to our winning ways.”
Kennedy said that she was feeling refreshed after the several-month break from the national team and was looking forward to the challenges ahead.
“I had a little bit of time, a couple of weeks after the Olympics, to spend away from football with my family back in Australia,” she recalled.
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“It’s been nice to come back in after that time away from the Matildas. We’ve all come in recharged.
“We’ve parked the Olympics and the disappointment of that, to get back ready to go again with a new-look team. Hopefully we will continue to get results.”
Her club, Manchester City has been in superb form of late, sitting atop the WSL table after five rounds.
They have also won both of their UEFA Women’s Champions League ties. One of those was against defending champions Barcelona, and the other featured a stunner of a goal from Kennedy.
“We’ve had a lot of games and were off to a good start,” she said.
“In the past, we’ve had the quality and the potential but probably missed out on a few points here or there, or dropped points at crucial times. So to be off to a good start is exciting. Hopefully, we continue that form.”
The club’s participation in the UWCL is particularly exciting for Kennedy, who explained that they were determined to reach the latter stages.
“Going to a club like City, you want to be there and expect to be a part of the Champions League,” she said.
“To not be there over the last couple of years was disappointing, but it was that extra motivation to make sure that we got ourselves to the group stages.
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“Those losses in the past have made us more determined to stay into the tournament’s latter stages. We’ve come into some good form, so hopefully we continue that.”
Finally, she said, it was “nostalgic” to be reunited with Interim Head Coach Tom Sermanni in the CommBank Matildas setup.
“It’s nice to see him here. He knows a lot of us really well, and he’s such a great guy, and someone that we’re all comfortable with.
“He has good energy. It’s nice to have Tommy back in the fold.”
COMMBANK MATILDAS | OCTOBER 2024 INTERNATIONALS
Switzerland v CommBank Matildas
Date: Friday, 25 October 2024 (local) / Saturday, 26 October (AEDT)
Kick-off: 8.00pm CET (local) / 5.00am (AEDT)
Venue: Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich
Broadcast: Paramount+
Tickets: Ticketmaster (Switzerland)
Germany v CommBank Matildas
Date: Monday, 28 October 2024 (local) / Tuesday, 29 October (AEDT)
Kick-off: 6.10pm CET (local) / 4.10am (AEDT)
Venue: Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena, Duisburg
Broadcast: Paramount+
Tickets: DFB Ticket Portal