A full house at Optus Stadium can expect to see a full complement of Matildas World Cup stars taking on the Philippines, with coach Tony Gustavsson set to deploy close to his strongest line-up in the hunt for crucial Olympic qualifying goals.
Gustavsson, who foreshadowed heavy squad rotation throughout Australia’s three matches over seven days in Perth, left most of his biggest stars on the bench for Thursday’s 2-0 win over a stubborn Iran.
Their struggles to break down the world’s No.63 nation, who defended defiantly in a low block, mean they sit second in Group A on goal difference heading into Sunday’s second fixture against the Philippines, who lead by virtue of their 4-1 rout of Taiwan on Thursday.
The 46th-ranked Philippines, now managed by Australian former Western United women’s coach Mark Torcaso, who took over from Alen Stajcic after the World Cup, will realistically be hoping to advance to the third and final phase of qualifying by finishing as the top-ranked runner-up across the three groups.
It means they could sit back against Australia in a bid to hold on to their advantageous goal difference. The Matildas, the group heavyweights, need to score goals to ensure they finish top of the group and secure a favourable third-phase opponent.
In February, two home-and-away play-offs will determine which two countries from the Asian confederation head to Paris 2024. While the Matildas are anticipated to be one of those, a play-off against the likes of Japan or South Korea, who upset Australia 1-0 in the 2022 Asian Cup quarter-finals and on Thursday beat Group B opponents Thailand 10-0.
The Matildas train at Optus Stadium on Saturday.Credit: Richard Wainwright
In this sense, there are stakes against the Philippines, who have a tendency to put players behind the ball – something the Matildas have historically struggled to handle. They did, however, dismantle them 4-0 in the Asian Cup’s group stage.
“It’s a very well-organised team, and they work extremely hard and don’t hesitate to tackle either,” Gustavsson said. “There’s some physicality there that really impresses me, and you can see they have a very, very clear idea of what they wanted to do.
“There’s some impressive character in that team. [They were] down 1-0 as well [against Taiwan], and then that was a key game for them. They’re good on set plays, so we know that will be a tough challenge.
“And when we played them last time it was nil-nil at half-time, if you remember at the Asian Cup, and we struggled to create something. Then finally we open up the deadlock with a corner and 1-0, and they open up a little bit and end up 4-0. So we know this is going to be a very, very tough challenge.”
It is the reason – jet lag aside – Gustavsson has saved his preferred XI for this match, especially given Taiwan, back at HBF Park on Wednesday, shape as a more straightforward proposition.
That means he seems likely to start the likes of captain Sam Kerr, vice-captain Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Alanna Kennedy and possibly Hayley Raso, if he opts to replace Cortnee Vine. One question mark lies in central defence, and whether Clare Hunt comes in or Clare Polkinghorne retains her spot.
