Matildas coach slams un Australian performance in 4 0 loss to Japan

Australia womens coach Tom Sermanni has taken his team to task after a full-strength Matildas side slumped to their heaviest defeat to Japan in a 4-0 horror show in Houston on Thursday.

Mina Tanaka scored a first-half brace and set up Maika Hamanos goal after the break before Moeka Minami completed the rout with a 75th-minute header in the opening match of the invitational SheBelieves Cup.

Three of the goals came from defensive errors, leaving interim coach Sermanni fuming.

Probably the most disappointing thing was ... I just felt some of the goals that we gave up were very poor, and thats kind of un-Australian, the 70-year-old Scot said in the post-match press conference.

We want to be a team thats hard to beat, and to be honest today we really gave up some soft goals. But overall, more than a fair result.

A poor clearance opened the door for Tanaka to score with a clever flick in the sixth minute, and she grabbed her second near the half-hour mark after defenders Clare Hunt and Alanna Kennedy clattered into each other in the box chasing a high ball.

Minami nodded home the fourth after beating goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold to the ball as she attempted to punch clear.

Japan could easily have had another two goals while the Matildas had only one shot for the entire match, substitute Charlotte Grant hitting the bar in the closing stages.

Sermanni said the match was a pretty huge wake-up call for Australia, who host the Asian Cup in just over a years time.

I suppose the positive thing is now it gives us a chance to say, well, OK, come this time next year when were just about getting into the Asian Cup, what do we need to do to beat teams like Japan?