[3] The song was recorded early in 2017 solely by Backstreet Boys for their ninth studio album DNA (2019), but did not cut.

[4] "Matches" is a fast dance,[2][5][6] electropop[7][8] and glitch pop[9] song containing glitchy and electronic sound effects and heavily treated vocals.

[6][11] Following the #JusticeForGlory campaign that was launched by Spears's fans on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, the singer unveiled a new cover art for Glory on May 8, 2020, nearly four years after its release.

[17] One of the boy band members, AJ McLean, was positive about the song's release and feeling it gives off, and he said he would like to record a music video in "quarantine style.

Writing for Rolling Stone, Jon Blisten called "Matches" a "delightful hit of contemporary club pop" with strings that are "reminiscent of the Max Martin-style songs that made Spears and BSB superstars".

[9] In opposite to Rolling Stone's Blisten, Wren Graves of Consequence of Sound stated that "Matches" "isn't a callback to the glory days of denim dresses and Max Martin productions; instead, it's a trip through the last decade of horny EDM".

[6] Idolator's Mike Wass called collaboration "sexy" and said that it "doesn't quite reach those heights [as "Swimming in the Stars"]," but still being a "worthy addition to both discographies".