Melbourne City star Leticia McKenna opened up on her “surreal” Matildas debut, scoring on debut to help the Matildas to a 5-0 win over Malawi in the FIFA Series 2026™.
Becoming Matilda #243, McKenna capped off a memorable first appearance in green and gold with Australia’s fifth goal, marking the occasion in the best possible way.
The 23-year-old admitted the moment was still sinking in after the final whistle.
“It’s surreal. It hasn’t sunk in yet,” she said.
“The girls have just been amazing, getting around me. I can’t really put it into words.”
McKenna’s goal sparked emotional celebrations, with her teammates quick to surround her and share in the special milestone, including City teammate Holly McNamara who also found the back of the net.
“I went a bit numb when I scored. I just smiled. It was incredibly special to do that on debut. I know my family will be very proud watching back at home.”
“Everyone just got around me straight away, congratulating me, and welcoming me into the Matildas’ family,” she said.
“I can’t thank them enough. Every single one of them came up to me straight away, and that’s something I’ll cherish for a long time.”
The City midfielder also credited the Matildas group for helping ease her nerves ahead of her first international appearance.
“The girls have welcomed me with open arms, and taken away the nerves. I thought I was going to be stressing a lot more. For them to get around me every step of the way has been awesome.”
Introduced with the instruction to play freely and confidently, McKenna made an immediate impact.
“Joe [Montemurro] said to go out there, have fun, be confident,” she said. “Positionally, just get into the pocket, get on the ball.”
Following her breakthrough moment on the international stage, McKenna is now focused on carrying that confidence back into her club football with Melbourne City.
“The focus moving forward now is just to be consistent when I head back into the A-League, keep being confident, and just keep trying to get better every day,” she said.
McKenna’s debut marks another proud moment for Melbourne City, with the midfielder becoming the latest player to represent the Club on the international stage.
McKenna, McNarama and their Matildas teammates will now turn their attention to their next FIFA Series fixture against Kenya.
FIXTURE DETAILS
Kenya vs Australia
Wednesday 15 April 2026/Thursday 16 April 2026 AEST | 5.30pm local/12.30am AEST
Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi
Paramount+
