Key events
89 mins: Australia work through a training ground goal-kick routine but it ends quickly with the off-key Fowler miss-kicking.
87 mins: Final subs of the night see Grant and Polkinghorne get some game time. Carpenter and Kennedy are withdrawn. Cap 167 for Polks.
86 mins: Kennedy eventually blinks and clips a hopeful ball into the box. China make a mess of the clearance as Vine and Raso hunt the turnover but they eventually escape. Raso comes away from the incident with a limp.
85 mins: Still keep-ball.
84 mins: Australia are playing keep-ball as the match enters ints closing stages.
82 mins: It’s easy to get blasé about these numbers, but the support for the Matildas is extraordinary.
81 mins: Lovely one-touch stuff from China, working their way out of defence, and just as the first concerted attack in about 15 minutes starts to build a head of steam Yang Lina shoots meekly from long range to pad Mackenzie Arnold’s stats.
79 mins: Another routine save from Arnold after Li Mengwen fired off a speculative effort from the right side of the penalty area.
78 mins: Australia have a spell of possession but get nowhere. China try to break down the left but can’t get numbers in support quickly enough.
76 mins: Passes continue to go astray as the action becomes a series of grimaces and apologetic hand gestures.
74 mins: Passes are going astray for both sides but the intent and tempo is still there. These have been two spirited friendlies.
72 mins: Raso is now on the left, Yallop the right, and Fowler – who has been quiet tonight – slots into the No 10 position.
70 mins: The short corner is poor, but then Vine almost gifts China an opening, dwelling on the ball in the penalty area instead of clearing her lines. Yang fires in an instinctive shot but Arnold gets her angles right and saves well at her near post.
69 mins: China get on the ball down the left. First they try to get in behind Carpenter with pace – which isn’t ever likely to happen – then they build slowly, eventually forcing a corner.
67 mins: Gustavsson now surely showing his hand with who is to be named in his squad tomorrow. Yallop, Wheeler, Vine, and now Torpey, must all feel confident of their futures if they are getting minutes tonight.
66 mins: Raso hits the post! Vine does superbly to chase down a lost cause and almost create an opportunity for herself. China fail to clear and from the edge of the box the Real Madrid flyer unleashes a thunderbolt that the Chinese keeper just about gets behind, with the help of the right-hand upright.
65 mins: A couple of minutes of scrappy play is suddenly energised by a Chinese counterattack. A beautiful curled ball over the top catches Kennedy and Hunt out of shape and eventually Zhang Linyan lets fly from 25m out, forcing Arnold into a diving save to her left.
62 mins: Vine hooks over from near the penalty spot after being found by a lovely floated ball from Yallop on the right.
61 mins: Australia have the bit between their teeth, snapping into challenges in midfield with Kennedy, then Raso, then Hunt, all getting their shorts dirty and emerging with the ball.
59 mins: China have been subdued this half so far but they muster a burst down the left that catches Australia napping and ends with Jiali Tang shooting on the turn straight at Arnold.
58 mins: Almost three for the Matildas but Yallop’s cross-cum-shot flashes across the face of goal.
GOAL! Australia 2-0 China (Raso, 56)
Cortnee Vine, take a bow. Hayley Raso gets the goal, but it’s all about the assist. Vine intercepts a Chinese counter in midfield, takes a couple of steps forward, then executes the perfect slide rule through-ball for the bursting run of Raso behind the Chinese defence. A couple of touches later and the ball is rolled cooly under Xu Huan to double Australia’s lead. Fantastic incisive football.
53 mins: Wheeler wins the ball back nicely in midfield but Australia lack any cohesion in transition with Carpenter getting tetchy on the right and Fowler failing to read the run of either Vine or Catley down the left.
51 mins: The experiment putting Vine up front is presumably contingency planning from Gustavsson. With Heyman out on her own as the sole fit centre forward in his plans he needs alternatives. It’s a big ask for a regular winger, especially when so much of the work of Heyman and Sam Kerr before her is with her back to goal.
49 mins: Few fringe Matildas players receive more love than Wheeler, but the Everton midfielder has either been starved of opportunities, or presented with difficult assignments. Here she has the boost of a goal and a half of football in a first-choice XI to stake her claim to a spot in Paris.
GOAL! Australia 1-0 China (Wheeler, 48)
Raso goes to ground near the corner of the box, inviting Catley to swing in a dangerous free-kick – and Wheeler, with practically her first touch of the match, nods home at the far post! That was inch-perfect from Catley, and the header was powerful and brave from the diminutive midfielder.
47 mins: Early corner for Australia. Cooney-Cross swings it into a dangerous area, but not for the first time tonight China do well to clear under pressure.
46 mins: Couple of changes at the break for Australia with Wheeler replacing Van Egmond in midfield and Vine coming on for Heyman up front – and she does line up centrally, not on the right wing.
Half-time: Australia 0-0 China
No goals, plenty of endeavour, and lots of love for Lydia Williams. See you in ten minutes.
45 mins: Meanwhile, the game goes on, and both sides look like they’re ready for some half-time fizzy pop.
43 mins: As the ball goes out of play, the crowd stands as one and applauds Lydia Williams who is substituted for Mackenzie Arnold. The noise is deafening for the 36-year-old who accepts the crowd’s love for the final time on Australian soil – and perhaps ever. Teammates rush over to offer hugs. Arnold embraces her warmly as she enters the field. Then it’s the turn of Gustavsson and the coaching staff. Lovely scenes.
42 mins: Another high turnover and Australia get into their work in a flash. It’s all a little scrappy though and nothing comes of it.
40 mins: Almost a wonder goal for Michelle Heyman! China cough up possession cheaply in midfield, Heyman pounces, looks up, sees nobody to pass to so just goes alone. With red shirts chasing like flames to a moth, she weaves left, then right, holding off defenders, showing incredible close control, dribbling into the box, and shooting…. agonisingly wide of goal.
39 mins: Gustavsson has moved from the dugout to his technical area, urging his side forward. Carpenter is the beneficiary, receiving an early ball on the right, but her cross slices horribly off her boot.
37 mins: Lovely move from China, picking the right passes from right to left, back to front, until the big switch opens up – only for the key pass to drift off target.
36 mins: Excellent from Hunt again, striding out of defence to intercept after Cooney-Cross had her pocket pinched.
34 mins: Copy and paste for Australia. Raso, one of the brightest sparks so far, gets to the byline, pulls the ball back towards the penalty spot but there aren’t enough yellow shirts committing to get into attacking positions and China clear.
32 mins: Better from the Matildas, and again it’s Carpenter injecting some life into proceedings down the right. Raso feeds her, and the cross from the byline is towards the penalty spot, but Van Egmond doesn’t gamble and China clear. If Australia are going to employ a strategy of crossing from the byline, they need to gamble and get bodies in the box.
30 mins: Australia seem reluctant to take the game on in the final third. With Raso’s speed and Fowler’s guile, there should always be a worthwhile one-on-one outlet, but the policy is always to retain possession and recycle play, despite the warren of blind alleys.
29 mins: The atmosphere has quietened as the energy in the Australian performance has dipped. Credit has to go once again to Ante Milicic for his tactics.
27 mins: Good defending by Hunt, who read the situation well as China built nicely through midfield. Liu Yanqiu, Wang Shuang, and Zhang Linyan are technical, dangerous footballers.
25 mins: The problem with that approach, of course, is opponents know it all too well and counter it by dropping off, sitting deep, and allowing Australia to play in front of them. China retreat into that defensive phalanx and for a few minutes the Matildas look a shadow of their potential. Not only that, but when China force the turnover Van Egmond deliberately pulls back a midfield raider and receives a straightforward yellow card.
23 mins: Much as they played against Canada at AAMI Park during the World Cup, the Matildas look at their most potent when they play for high turnovers instead of working the ball from side to side in laboured build-up play. To that end, Yallop, Heyman, Van Egmond, and Raso make a formidable pressing unit.
21 mins: Yallop wins a high turnover and Australia are away again – until Raso and Carpenter get their wires crossed. Raso doesn’t let it bother her and she shows her incredible speed, hunting down Liu Yanqiu on the counter.
