Matildas v Canada LIVE: Australian stars return for second clash in Vancouver

An interesting point Gustavsson made in yesterday’s pre-match press conference was his tactical approach on Saturday.

The Matildas are very good at attacking from wide areas and playing over the top. They are not so strong at playing out from the back.

Gustavsson said he gave those young players licence to make mistakes, as long as they kept trying to play through the lines.

I wonder if he will expect the same of his first XI. He tells Ten just now that he wants to see a “really aggressive pressing game” and “a little bit more variation than last time” in attack.

Likely to start this second game are Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Clare Hunt and Ellie Carpenter (who did not play at all in the first game) and Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Alanna Kennedy (who came off the bench).

Sam Kerr and Mackenzie Arnold withdrew from this camp through injury and Katrina Gorry sat out training on Tuesday but may yet be available.

Certain to play for Canada is Christine Sinclair, who played half an hour off the bench on Saturday and today will mark her final international at 40 years old having scored 190 goals – a record across both the men’s and women’s games – appeared at six World Cups and won an Olympic gold medal.

Team lists out shortly!

How would you sum up the Matildas first game against Canada last week? Hard to watch.

Tony Gustavsson, fresh from overseeing a historic home World Cup semi-final run and a trio of Olympic qualifying wins in Perth, sought to use this international window to test young players.

On Saturday, Gustavsson’s version of giving young players a chance was throwing a second-string XI (barring perhaps Clare Polkinghorne, Aivi Luik and Tameka Yallop) in the deep end and asking them to show him what they can do with little on-field support or direction.

From an outsider’s perspective, it appeared somewhat futile. It is hard to gauge the potential of debutants Charlize Rule and Sarah Hunter when neither are debuting in circumstances that might be considered typical of the Matildas, both in personnel and playing style. One can only imagine how it might feel for the players themselves who, instead of gradually building minutes within a stable, slightly altered XI, have all been sent out with each other. Against the Olympic champions.

Good afternoon, and welcome to our live coverage of the Matildas second (and final) friendly against Canada.

Billie Eder here to take you through all the action which is set to start at 2pm AEDT.

It’s been an…interesting week for the Matildas, after their 5-0 loss to Canada on Saturday, but here’s to hoping coach Tony Gustavsson is a little more restrained with his team selection today.

From all indications, we can expect to see a field with some more familiar faces, rather than throwing rookies in the deep end, but if we know anything about Tony, it’s that he likes to keep us on our toes.