Matildas win despite strange call that had pundits baffled

OK, so it’s not the Asian Cup, but it’s still a trophy.

The Matildas were awarded a rather cute FIFA Series trophy after being made to work harder than they probably expected by Kenya in Nairobi earlier this morning, emerging 2-0 victors.

Sam Kerr and Clare Wheeler were the goal-scorers, with Kerr’s 75th goal for the national team coming after an absolute howler from the Kenyan goalkeeper.

The Matildas felt it should have been 3-0 but were left part-angry, part-confused, by the referee’s decision to disallow a goal by Caitlin Foord.

Watch it at 8:45 in the video below.

“Your guess is good as mine” was the best that former Matilda Grace Gill could offer as an explanation.

Get the full report via the link below.

Bayern Munich have eliminated Real Mardid from the Champions League after playing out an absolute classic in Germany, which wrapped up just a few minutes ago.

Bayern won a pulsating encounter 4-3 on the night, clinching the tie 6-4 on aggregate, but the result was far from assured with just a few minutes of regular time remaining.

Turkish star Arda Guler, who will be a massive threat for the Socceoros in their World Cup opener less than two months from now, opened the scoring for Real in the first minute, and when Aleksander Pavlovic equalised five minutes later, everyone knew we had an epic on our hands.

So it proved to be, with Los Blancos leading 3-2 at half-time after more goals from Guler, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane, before the game blew up when Eduardo Camavinga was shown a red card in the 86th minute.

Just a couple of minutes later Luis Diaz scored to put Bayern ahead, before Michael Olise sealed the deal with an absolutely brilliant individual effort.

As is so often the case, Real’s players had a sense of injustice after their elimination, harassing the referree after full time to such an extent that Guler was shown a red card.

Meanwhile over in London, things were a little more sedate as Arsenal grinded their way to the Champions League semi-finals with a scoreless draw against Sporting CP, meaning the Premier League leaders went through 1-0 on aggregate.

Get the full report from both games here.

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The scenes of Alex Brosque lifting the A-League trophy in his final game as a professional athlete are etched into the minds of most Sydney FC fans, and of plenty of the vanquished Perth Glory supporters who watched the grand final back in 2019.

But what most of those people probably haven’t considered is what came next for Brosque.

The A-League legend and former Socceroos forward is a regular presence on our TV screens these days, but away from the bright lights, things haven’t all been rosy for the 42-year-old.

In an exclusive interview with Football360, thanks to our mates at Mosh, Brosque opened up on the challenges of life after football.

It’s an illuminating chat that showcases just how difficult it can be for elite athletes to adjust to things that might seem normal to the rest of us, such as not being told what to eat and when to do exercise.

That’s not to say things are all doom and gloom for the man with the best beard in Australian football (sorry, Mile Jedinak).

After considering but ultimately choosing not to keep playing at a lower level following his retirement, Brosque has rediscovered his love of the game via an unusual source - junior girls park football.

He now coaches his daughter’s team in the suburbs of western Sydney and, with his dad as his assistant, helped them win their league last season - just as he did with Sydney FC all those years ago.

I’d really recommend checking out the interview - it’s got some lessons for all of us, on football and life more generally.

Stefan Mauk and Ben Garuccio have a lot to get off their chests.

It’s fair to say Garuccio, of Sydney FC, and Mauk, formerly of Adelaide United and now playing in Vietnam for Cong An Ha Noi, aren’t your average professional athletes - they are always ready to offer a forthright opinion in a public forum, rather than just giving us a “full credit to the boys” type answer.

That much is clear when you listen to their Football Friends podcast, which we’re pleased to say is now available via Football360.

The pair had some passionate chats this week on a couple of different yet somewhat-related topics; one being the ‘pretty abysmal’ crowd at the recent Sydney Derby, which Garuccio played in, and the other being the lack of a permanent home for the Socceroos, something that prompted FIFA to reportedly write a letter directly to prime minister Anthony Albanese.

Check out what the football friends had to say in this week’s episode via the video below.

Speaking of FIFA, apparently there is a World Cup on soon (see what I did there?).

From Graham Arnold mulling over his future with Iraq, to Ghana signing up veteran coach Carlos Quiroz, we’ve collated all the best news bites from around the globe as we count down the weeks until the greatest footballing show on earth.

Check it out in our World Cup Watch article here.

We’ve had great fun bringing you coverage of the Emerging Matildas Championships over the past week, with the tournament coming to an end in Melbourne yesterday.

Western Australia lifted the trophy in the Under-16s final, which is quite a statement for a state that hasn’t traditionally been seen as a footballing powerhouse - although it is, of course, where Matildas legend Sam Kerr is from.

In the Under-15s final, New South Wales Sky emerged victorious over Queensland White (there were multiple teams from NSW, Victoria and Queensland).

One of the standout players for the winners, not just yesterday but throughout the tournament, was Selena Mifsud, who emerged with the Golden Boot award after scoring 10 goals.

Remember the name.