Australia's most experienced women's football coach will once again take the reins of the national team with Tom Sermanni taking over as interim coach of the Matildas.
Football Australia will continue its extensive search for a permanent head coach for the women's team following the departure of Tony Gustavsson after the failed Paris 2024 Olympics campaign, with the interim appointment believed to cover friendly matches in Europe in the October window and in Australia in December if required.
Currently Director of Women's Football at A-League women's club Western Sydney Wanderers, Sermanni's confirmation in the temporary role with the national team will be her third stint in charge of the Australian women's team, having previously led the team from 1994 to 1997 and again from 2005 to 2012.
Sermanni still maintains his authority as the most successful coach in Matildas history after guiding the team to their only major title to date – the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2010 – as well as quarter-final places at the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2007 and 2011.
The former midfielder, who made over 150 appearances for Albion Rovers, as well as playing for Blackpool, Torquay United and Dunfermiline Athletic before moving to Australia, has extensive international coaching experience. He was hired to manage the US women's national team but left Australia in 2012 and kept the then world number one women's team unbeaten for the next 12 months.
Following a stint on the Canadian national team coaching staff at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Sermanni returned to the U.S. as the inaugural coach of NWSL expansion team Orlando Pride before being lured back into international soccer as head coach of the New Zealand women for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The return to the Australian national team will turn back the clock as captain Sam Kerr will resume her role in the team after a lengthy injury layoff. Kerr made her national team debut under Sermanni in 2009, at the age of 15. The following year, she scored the opening goal in the 2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup final, which Australia would go on to win on penalties against North Korea.
The decision to hire an interim coach is likely to be popular with the playing group and will be a reunion for many in the current set-up, with Sermanni launching the national team careers of current players Caitlin Foord, Alanna Kennedy, Steph Catley, Katrina Gorry, Tameka Yallop, Clare Polkinghorne, Hayley Raso, Emily van Egmond and Mackenzie Arnold in his previous tenure.
