Fans have reacted strongly to some unusual pre-match scenes prior to the Matildas’ 3-1 friendly defeat to Brazil in Brisbane.

Australia has fallen to a 3-1 defeat in a fractious, high-octane contest against Brazil at Lang Park in which Matildas coach Tom Sermanni said the referee "allowed herself to be bullied".

The Matildas will dust themselves down and attempt to quickly move on after a physical, relentless Brazil beat Australia 3-1 to crash retiring great Clare Polkinghorne's send-off match in Brisbane.

The “team first” attitude that has been the mantra of Clare Polkinghorne’s entire Matildas career is again evident ahead of the retiring veteran’s farewell match on Thursday night against Brazil in Brisbane.

Australia farewells beloved veteran Clare Polkinghorne in a heated battle against Brazil, falling 3-1 to the reigning Olympic silver medallists. Here are the quick hits from the "friendly" match.

Australian captain Steph Catley and her teammates are adamant they can't afford to be pushed around again by Brazil, who won the physical battle in a spiteful "friendly" in Brisbane.  Brazil won Thursday night's clash 3-1 in a fiery affair at Suncorp Stadium.