Matildas v Panama LIVE updates: Raso leads Australia in friendly

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4.17pm

‘We’ve seen a lot of talent’: Montemurro on naming a young Matildas lineup

Ahead of this afternoon’s match, Matildas head coach Joe Montemurro addressed reporters on Friday. Speaking of the new talent that’s been brought in, Montemurro said, “Obviously, we’ve kept the intensity high so if I were to be brutally honest there’s a few sore bodies in there, but we have to send that message to make sure that this is the level we need to be training at and this is the level they need to take away from the national team”.

“There is a real purpose in this camp to make sure that we give many opportunities, we look at different combinations, we look at some different ideas, so we create a big base of information, knowing where we can go forward,” he said.

If you’re looking for time to kill before kick-off, watch the full pre-match press conference here.:

4.08pm

Tell us who you think will win in Bunbury

3.46pm

Panama’s starting XI

Panama has arrived at the Hands Oval and has named their starting lineup featuring key forward Marta Cox, who scored the team’s first-ever World Cup goal in Sydney nearly two years ago. Cox will captain the side this evening and will be one to keep an eye on.

3.40pm

Australia’s starting XI

Veteran Hayley Raso will lead out the Matildas in Bunbury, joined by Tegan Micah, who is back between the goal posts after delivering a clean sheet in the first match against Slovenia.

Alana Murphy has been named in the starting lineup for the first time in her career. This will be the fourth international appearance for the 19-year-old Melbourne Victory midfielder.

On the bench, looking to make their debuts for the Matildas are Grace Kuilamu, Jacynta Galabadaarachchi, Adriana Taranto and Alexia Apostolakis.

3.30pm

Hello and welcome

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the Matildas friendly against Panama at the Hands Oval in Bunbury. It’s the Matildas’ first-ever match in the city as a very green squad takes on the South American side currently ranked 56th in the FIFA women’s world rankings.

My name is Frances Howe, and I’m here to take you through today’s match as a total of five players could make their Matildas debuts this afternoon. Several veteran players left the training camp on Monday following Australia’s 3-0 and 1-1 results against Slovenia last week.

Mackenzie Arnold, Ellie Carpenter, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Winonah Heatley, Alana Kennedy and Jada Whyman have all left camp. We’ll follow up with more team news shortly.

Until then, log in to Paramount+ ahead of kick-off at 2.30pm local time or 4.30pm (AEST).