Goal! Australia 0-1 Brazil (Gutierres '6)

4 mins: Amanda Gutierres gets the first shot of the night away from the edge of the penalty box. There isn’t enough power though and Mackenzie Arnold barely has to move before collecting with ease.

2 mins: The Matildas lock the ball forward without creating anything resembling a threat. Once Brazil get the ball at their feet they’re happy to pass it around and give everyone a touch. Works at all levels.

Peeeeeeeeep! We’re underway at Suncorp Stadium. The Matildas start in a 3-4-3 formation with wing-backs Carpenter and Catley pushing straight into the midfield. Brazil line up with a familiar 4-3-3.

The national anthems are done, the Polkinghorne has won the toss, the captains are delivering their last-minute instructions.

The no-frills defender Clare Polkinghorne keeps it short n sweet as she says her thank yous and demands that it’s time to get down to business.

Just a few quick words from me because we’ve got a game to get on with. It’s so special for me to be here and to celebrate in front of my home fans, in a city I grew up and in and stadium that I absolutely love.

This team has been everything to me. It’s been a hell of a journey and I’m very thankful for everything that everyone has done along the way. So thank you very much and let’s get on with it.

The Matildas have swapped out of their Clare Polkinghorne tribute tshirts and into their more familiar gold-with-a-dash-of-green jerseys. Brazil are dressed in their blue kit with white shorts as both sides line up to acknowledge the Australian defender ahead of her 168th and final football match.

From one great to another, former Brisbane Broncos rugby league star Darren Lockyer and swimmer Susie O’Neill hand Polkinghorne memorabilia to mark the occasion of her farewell match, and set a high benchmark for surprises we might see this evening (it turns out they were Polkinghorne’s childhood heroes).

The Matildas are building up to another international tournament on home soil with the Asian Cup just 15 months away, while Brazil are taking steps towards hosting the next Women’s World Cup in 2027.

But the early signs are that this will be a celebration of the career of a hometown hero at Suncorp Stadium. There is, after all, only one Clare Polkinghorne!

Samantha Lewis has been following the Matildas since well before they were cool and has dug deep into her notebooks to pull out a close look at their history of clashes with Brazil. The blue touch paper was lit on the rivalry during the Women’s World Cup 2007 when Australia reached the quarter-finals for the first time (spoiler alert: Brazil were runners-up).

Their first opponents in the knockout stage were Brazil: a team who have since become one of the Matildas’ longest-standing rivals, and who were led, back then, by the great Marta, who would go on to win the tournament’s Golden Boot and MVP awards.

Australia lost that game 3-2 – not a boilover, by any stretch – with the core of that team going on to become the country’s first Asian Champions just three years later.

Brazil XI

Matildas XI

While we can hope to see some fresh faces for the Matildas this evening, one of the true stalwarts of the side will be closing the curtain on an illustrious career in her home town Brisbane. Clare Polkinghorne will line up for the national side for the 168th time – a record number of caps for an Australian footballer – since making her debut in 2006.

Our own Jack Snape looks at Polkinghorne’s career in green and gold and what comes next for the former Australia captain (with some kind words from interim coach Tom Sermanni thrown in).

She is the defensive stalwart for the sporting team that has become Australia’s darling, yet after 18 years with the Matildas, Clare Polkinghorne has a clear-cut view of retirement: “I’ll definitely need a job.”

Preamble

Martin Pegan