Two major contenders to win the Women’s World Cup are at risk of compromising their preparations amid public disputes between players, coaches and national federations, according to Tony Gustavsson.
And he feels sorry for them, even if the Matildas might stand to benefit.
Australia’s Cup of Nations campaign continues at CommBank Stadium on Sunday with a showdown against Spain, the world’s No.7-ranked nation, who have brought a second-string team to Sydney after 15 star players ruled themselves out of selection indefinitely due to a stand-off with coach Jorge Vilda and their national federation.
Fans of Canada holding signs in support of the current dispute regarding pay and conditions at the SheBelieves Cup in Florida.Credit:Getty
Spain were hand-picked for the tournament to act as a proxy of sorts for Canada (ranked No.6), who the Matildas will face in their second match at the World Cup in Group B, which is anticipated will decide who finishes top and earns an easier run in the knockout phase.
Gustavsson wanted a dress rehearsal for the real thing, but he may be getting more than he bargained for: as it happens, the Canadians are also going through significant off-field turmoil.
Their players have long been at loggerheads with Canada Soccer but took their ongoing fight for equal pay and conditions to a new level last week, threatening to go on strike ahead of the SheBelieves Cup – a friendly tournament similar to the Cup of Nations involving Canada, the USA, Japan and Brazil.
The federation, however, threatened to sue them if they failed to take the field, and so they did so begrudgingly – and then captain Christine Sinclair admitted the team was “mentally exhausted” after losing 2-0 to the United States, and acknowledged the saga had impacted their on-field performance.
Canada’s off-field turmoil left players feeling “mentally exhausted” on the field, legendary skipper Christine Sinclair said.Credit:Getty
The specifics of the situations differ, but the player uprisings in Spain and Canada are both rooted in a yearning for improvement in standards in women’s football, and a belief that some countries are failing to step up to the plate.
These are teething problems that Australia has perhaps already gone through: seven years ago, the Matildas went on a two-month strike, with some of Gustavsson’s current players choosing to skip a tour of the USA to fight for improved pay instead.
In a selfish sense, all of this is potentially good for the Matildas, if it means two of their biggest rivals to take out the World Cup are distracted or disturbed in the months ahead. But Gustavsson doesn’t see it that way, and expressed hope that for Spain and Canada’s sakes, there is some form of resolution before then.
“Obviously, I can’t comment on what’s happening … I don’t have insight to what’s actually happening,” Gustavsson said.
“What I can say is that being a part of the women’s game since 2012, and the Olympics in London, I’ve seen a growth that I love. A lot of players are now full-time professionals. You can see what the clubs have done in terms of investment. You can see a lot of federations are investing. From my perspective, I’m just really, really happy about the growth of the women’s game.
“The other thing I can say from a coach’s perspective is that when you’re going into a tournament, I know from experience that it’s not just about the opposition, it’s how you handle disturbance. If you can minimise disturbance going into a tournament, and during a tournament, that is important in order to perform.
“In that sense I feel for other teams that might have to deal with other things. I’m not criticising anyone, just in general, from a performance perspective, you want to try to get that over with before you go into tournaments, so you can have that kind of cohesion and calmness going into tournament.”
Gustavsson, meanwhile, predicted an improved performance from the Matildas against Spain, now that more players have been cleared to take part in the Cup of Nations and the European-based players in his squad have had time to shake off their jet lag and adjust to the Australian summer heat.
While they were smashed 7-0 the last time they met, Australia fielded a weakened team without the likes of Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord and Mary Fowler. Gustavsson tipped this time would be different, and a much-needed test of their defensive capabilities before the World Cup.
“I don’t expect it to be perfect,” he said.
“The number one thing for us is if you defend individually against the top teams, they break it down. You need to do it collectively.
“I think we are one of the best pressing teams in the world. I think [Spain] are one of the best passing teams. Can we press against this team? [If] we don’t, they’re going to play right through us, and we need to get exposed and feel that now, so we can fix it for the World Cup.”
