Three wins from three, 13 goals scored and none conceded, and progression to the next stage of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games secured. The Matildas travelled to Perth this week and professionally went about defeating IR Iran, the Philippines, and Chinese Taipei while selling out every stadium along the way.
A home and away playoff against Uzbekistan in February now awaits, probably the most favourable draw that Tony Gustavsson’s side could possibly have received. And that’s not to be disrespectful to the Uzbeks, it’s just that when the other options were Japan, arguably the strongest team in Asia, or North Korea, who emerged from literally four years of competitive absence to top a group featuring World Cup participants South Korea and China, Uzbekistan are the least credentialled.
This international window started with several questions for the Matildas, as well as Gustavsson. Now, as the squad boards flights back to clubs across Australia, Europe, and North America, the focus can turn to what was learned from the past week, and what it could mean for the future — especially in the face of continued noise surrounding the future of Gustavsson. Progression to the next phase of Olympic qualifying was a base expectation, but there’s a bigger picture at play here.
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The coach occupied a peculiar position coming out of the Women’s World Cup, wherein he was widely lauded around the world for getting Australia to the semifinals but questioned domestically for the manner in which he did. Sources have told ESPN that his work with Australia has resulted in the Swede being tapped as one of three preferred candidates for the vacant United States job alongside Australian-born Juventus boss Joe Montemurro and OL Reign mentor Laura Harvey. A two-time World Cup-winning assistant under Jill Ellis, Gustavsson has clear ties to the United States and was endorsed as a “strong candidate” for the role by Ellis even before the official jettisoning of former USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski.
That two coaches with significant Australian ties are amongst the reported front runners for the biggest job in women’s football clearly speaks to the growth of the sport Down Under and the esteem in which Antipodean figures are held within this space. Sources have previously told ESPN that the USWNT had an interest in interviewing Montemurro for the coaching position following the departure of Ellis following the 2019 Women’s World Cup, only to be blocked by his then-employers Arsenal.
Much of the domestic criticism of Gustavsson that contrasted with the international adulation post-World Cup centred upon his squad management at the tournament, on how a lack of rotations led to his preferred XI running out of gas against England in the semifinal and then Sweden in the third-place game. Gustavsson’s in-game adjustments against the best sides in the world came under the microscope, especially in the aftermath of the defeat to the Lionesses in which England boss Sarina Weigman thoroughly snookered him.
More broadly, questions lingered about how the team functioned. How this group of highly talented players, drawn from some of the biggest teams in the world, could largely have their results predicted by if they had were able to play as the reactive side without the ball (that boded well), or as the proactive side in possession (that didn’t).
It was also asked if the Matildas were too reliant on a never-say-die, backs against-the-wall, underdog mentality and if it needed to evolve to become a side that revelled in the favourites tag and comfortably put other teams to the sword. The Matildas’ most devastating win of the World Cup — a 4-0 thrashing of Canada in a must-win group-stage clash in which they had 39% of the ball — only carried the stakes it did because the side had fallen as favourites to a 3-2 defeat with 65% possession against Nigeria the preceding matchday.
At the core of the matter, really, was that, yes, a semifinal was great, but with this group of players, with this home-field advantage, with so many other contenders falling by the wayside, could it have been even better?
But if one is going to criticise the 50-year-old for these perceived shortcomings, it’s just as important, and fair, to give him his flowers when he looks to address them and guide the team on the next phase of its evolution. Because the Matildas showed clear signs of growth over the past week.
Well aware that they were going to have to face opponents that would sit deep and defend in a low block, the Matildas displayed a consistent commitment to trying to play through them, to unlocking their opponents through combinations and movement rather than just devolving into the cross-spamming tactics that had consistently reared its head in previous frustrating games. Admittedly, there were growing pains. When an experimental and unheralded XI played against Iran sitting so deep they were in danger of falling between the couch cushions, it got frustrating. The 2-0 scoreline was significantly below what would have been expected from the two sides based on résumés. Occasionally there were a few speculative crosses or long-range efforts hammered in. But those bad instincts were fought.
