Sam Kerr praised in Matildas return as Australia beats New Zealand 2-0

Sam Kerr, for the first time in ages, felt free and easy.

"Sometimes we lose sight of why we play football," Kerr said after her first game in Australia for two years on Tuesday night.

"Tonight just felt like one of those moments where I could just really go out there and enjoy it and have fun."

Kerr took great heart from her influential 45-minute shift in a 2-0 win against New Zealand in Adelaide.

As Alanna Kennedy and Hayley Raso scored, Kerr felt near her zippy best — and with an audacious touch here, shimmy there, Australia's Asian Cup stocks rose.

As coach Joe Montemurro put it: "She brings this level of confidence within the group.

"Everyone just feels a little bit taller, stronger, better, having Sam around. Obviously the footballing qualities are second to none."

Kerr and her teammates return to their clubs, with the Chelsea striker certain of one thing: She will be so much fitter come March, when Perth, Sydney and the Gold Coast host the Asian Cup.

"It will be a huge difference," she said.

"The same as Joe, we wish it was next week, too.

"Obviously, for us, it's a really big tournament. We want to go as far as we can.

"The main focus now for all of us is just to stay fit and ready for the Asian Cup.

"And we're all excited. I mean, from the success of the [2023] World Cup … it was special and something that we'll never, ever forget being a part of, that home World Cup.

"So we're kind of hoping that we can replicate that feeling at the Asian Cup."

Kerr said that feeling also gifted the Matildas with a now proven core able to handle host-nation hype and expectation.

"Everyone's a bit older, everyone's a bit more mature, have experienced it," she said.

"But expectations … go into every game now and [we need to] just focus on the next game and not get too far ahead of ourselves.

"I mean, to go fourth at the World Cup is a pretty amazing achievement for an Australian team, so I think we handled it pretty well at the World Cup.

"But it's a whole new tournament, such a different tournament playing Asian football, and there's so many great teams. It's going to be tough."

Montemurro said the time without captain Kerr could also be a blessing when Australia hoped to claim a second Asian Cup, following 2010.

"The beauty of this squad, we have now elevated the squad holistically, in a big way," he said.

"We've got a good group of players that can fit into all different areas and can come into all different situations, understanding the style and the ideas we're trying to put in."

AAP