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Sam Kerr’s heroics sent the Matildas into the Asian Cup final, but the Aussie captain admits she was moments from collapse after a gruelling tournament.

Sam Kerr revealed she was on the brink of exhaustion after the Matildas' thrilling 2-1 semi-final victory over China at the Asian Cup, but despite being desperate for a break, she pushed through to score the decisive goal that secured Australia's spot in Saturday's final.

Kerr's stunning second-half strike came in the 58th minute and proved to be the match-winner in front of 35,170 fans at Optus Stadium in Perth. The goal followed Caitlin Foord's opener in the 17th minute, which was a brilliant team effort capped off by a sharp finish inside the box. However, China quickly responded, converting a penalty after Matildas' goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold was penalised for a controversial foul.

Despite being clearly fatigued, Kerr found the energy to produce the match-winning moment, racing onto a through-ball from Foord, rounding the keeper, and calmly slotting the ball home from a tight angle. The goal, which sent the home crowd into raptures, continued her excellent tournament, bringing her total to four goals in as many matches. Saturday's final will be Kerr's sixth match in just 21 days, a remarkable feat after her long recovery from a knee reconstruction.

However, the 28-year-old was feeling the strain of her heavy workload. "I've played a lot of minutes in the last two weeks, and I looked up after the 62nd minute, and I was literally dark," Kerr admitted. "I was like, 'I don't know how I'm going to make it to the 90th'." She even went to coach Joe Montemurro during the match and requested to come off, but the coach was reluctant to take her off given her importance to the team.

"I went over to Joe and I said, 'Joe, I'm done'. Literally, if there was one more minute, I think I would have fallen over," Kerr said. "I couldn't even celebrate, I was so tired." Montemurro's refusal to substitute her meant Kerr had to dig deep to finish the match, a decision that ultimately paid off when her goal propelled the Matildas into the final.

Looking ahead to the final in Sydney, Kerr acknowledged rest and recovery would be crucial as the Matildas aim for their first Asian Cup title since 2010. Reflecting on her previous experience in that tournament, Kerr revealed her youthful naivety helped her back then. She had scored as a 16-year-old in the final against North Korea, and the memory of that triumph has inspired her to approach the final with the same mindset.

"I just watched it back in the ice bath – not really sure how I got it in, honestly," Kerr recalled about her winning goal. "I had no idea what I was in for. I think that worked in my favour. I went out there and just played and just had fun and didn't realise how big a deal it was… hopefully on the weekend I have that mentality in my brain to just go out there, enjoy it, and hopefully score."