‘It sucks’: Sam Kerr is still digesting Matildas’ Asian Cup heartbreak

Sam Kerr admits she is yet to come to terms with the heartbreak of the Matildas’ defeat to Japan in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup final as the national team’s focus shifts to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

It has been less than three weeks since Australia’s shattering 1-0 loss to the Nadeshiko, which left senior players like Kerr in disbelief after they produced their best performance of the tournament, only to fall agonisingly short once again.

But they are back together already, with this month’s FIFA Series friendlies in Kenya marking the start of their World Cup preparations, having sealed their qualification by reaching the Asian Cup’s final four.

The Matildas face world No.153-ranked Malawi on Saturday (9pm AEST), and will play a second match against either India or Kenya next week.

But Kerr’s comments suggest they are not yet over what happened against Japan, who have since parted ways with their coach Nils Nielsen and his Australian assistant Leah Blayney.

“It sucks to kind of just look at the final, and feel a bit of a disappointment,” Kerr said.

“We qualified for the World Cup, which is a positive. And yeah, Japan are a great team. [I] still haven’t fully reflected on it yet, as it was obviously really disappointing.

“I feel like [it was] a big opportunity missed, but with what we achieved and again, how the nation got behind us, it felt like a positive tournament.”

Kerr has played in three games for Chelsea since the Asian Cup final, completing the full 90 minutes in each of them – and her contributions make a mockery of the idea that she is a spent force at the top level.

She scored and assisted in a 4-3 win over Aston Villa in the Women’s Super League, then assisted the winning goal in a 1-0 victory against Arsenal in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, although the Blues lost 3-2 on aggregate to bow out of the tournament.

On Monday, she produced a player-of-the-match performance with the opening goal in a 2-1 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Her days at Chelsea, however, appear to be numbered.

The 32-year-old is out of contract at the end of this season and is said to have signed a deal with US National Women’s Soccer League side Denver Summit, although Kerr poured cold water on those links with a Snapchat story shortly after Network 10 reported the news.

Kerr was not asked about her future in the video news release distributed by Football Australia on Thursday, but said she was excited to be playing in Africa for the first time, and for the Matildas to be exposed to a different kind of opponent than they are used to.

“You’re going to face different teams in the World Cup. The World Cups are getting bigger each time and you face different teams from all different confederations,” she said.

“So I think it’s important for us to be ready for all different types of games, and what a better way to start here in Kenya.

“On the pitch, I think it offers a different experience. Most of us haven’t played many African teams much, so there’s a lot of experience [to be] gained in that.

“And then off the pitch, I think it’s just nice to come and see different cultures, different walks of life. Hopefully we get to see the beautiful safaris and all of that that Africa has to offer. Most of us have never been to Africa, or it’s our second time … [it’s] an experience and something to learn and educate ourselves on different cultures around the world.”

Coach Joe Montemurro has named a strong 21-player squad for the FIFA Series, which includes all but eight members of Australia’s Asian Cup squad.

Vice-captain Steph Catley was a late withdrawal this week, pulling out after suffering a calf injury while playing for Arsenal, and will not be replaced in the squad; Mary Fowler, Ellie Carpenter, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Katrina Gorry are the other top-line stars who haven’t made the trip.