After their thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over New Zealand on Friday night, the Matildas had a far more comfortable victory in Tuesday’s rematch in Canberra, with a first-half blitz seeing them run out 3-1 winners.
On the back of the devastating failure at the Asian Cup, where the team slumped to a worst-ever finish, the series provided a welcome boost for Tony Gustavsson – and a major step forward for the Matildas as they prepare for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
Here are the major talking points from the two-match battle.
MATCH REPORTS
Kerr double propels Matildas to clean sweep of NZ — but work to be done before World Cup
GREAT ESCAPE: Matildas fire TWO goals to sink NZ in unbelievable comeback
1. Belief is back – and there’s a new focus going forward
The Matildas and coach Tony Gustavsson were bullish entering the Asian Cup tournament in January, declaring the expectation was to win the competition for the first time since 2010.
However, following three comfortable victories in the group stage, the Matildas fell apart in a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat in their quarterfinal against South Korea – handing Australia its worst-ever finish in the competition.
After their best-ever Olympics finish of fourth at Tokyo the year prior, the tournament was meant to be a significant step forward in the Matildas’ World Cup preparations.
Instead of proving the Matildas were developing into a side capable of challenging for World Cup honours, it was a brutal setback.
Major issues that had been exposed throughout matches in 2021 under Gustavsson reared their head again – from a defensive frailty, to a midfield that struggled to take control, and an attack that largely failed to break down elite and disciplined defences.
Gustavsson’s own position was under threat, somewhat understandably given his six wins from 20 appearances gave him the worst win ratio of any Matildas manager this century.
But he maintained the support of the players. Sam Kerr told Foxsports.com.au last month that changing managers with a World Cup looming would be “the worst thing in the world.”
While the on-field problems have not been completely addressed – more on those below – the Matildas played with a resolute belief in Gustavsson’s strategy that was sorely lacking in the knockout defeat to South Korea.
Gustavsson said on Tuesday night: “After the USA series we played pretty well in the Asian Cup but we lost a little bit of faith and belief in what we were doing in that second half against Korea.
“So when we came back into this camp, we resolved to keep believing in what we’re doing even more and to stay loyal to that process. Then we needed to have a little more cohesion, chemistry, and continuity in what we’re doing.”
Those ‘Three Cs’ provide a crucial indication of Gustavsson’s plan moving forward. The 48-year-old has handed out 14 debuts in his year-long tenure and deployed 38 players in an attempt to build squad depth and reduce an over-reliance on a core group of players that has been a key problem for half a decade or more.
The central issue facing Gustavsson is how to get the most out of the core group – the squad has a whopping eight centurions – by the way he uses his supporting cast.
He said on Tuesday “I’ve thrown a lot of curveballs” at the players in terms of team rotations, positional switches and tactical adjustments – often mid-match.
The experimentation has given plenty of youngsters an opportunity to develop and swell the ranks of the senior squad.
But the downside has been a struggle for cohesion and chemistry at times, to use Gustavsson’s terms. A new focus on the third term – continuity – moving forward is set to see fewer curveballs.
Hopefully that is reflected in – here’s another ‘C’ buzzword – consistency.
2. The rise of the ‘quarterback’ – and the big impact of a small star
Diminutive midfielder Katrina Gorry’s return to the national team has been nothing short of spectacular. Gorry was pregnant as her Matildas teammates competed at the Tokyo Olympics, giving birth to Harper Ollie in August. Three months later, she was playing elite football again with Brisbane Roar, a remarkably rapid return to the top.
Such was her incredible form early in the A-League Womens season that she was selected for the Asian Cup – something she turned down due to concerns over travelling to India with her young child during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It wasn’t until Friday night that Gorry, the 2014 AFC (Asian) player of the year, made her first appearance under Gustavsson and her 79th for the Matildas in total.
Playing as a holding midfielder, she was the standout performer on the night – passing exceptionally and controlling the tempo of the game, unlocking the Kiwi defence with her intelligent movement and vision, and regularly beating defenders on the dribble. And that was just in attack.
Gustavsson said on Friday: “Her quarterback ability as a (number eight), her positioning, is phenomenal. Her passing skill is phenomenal. I’m not surprised how good she was attacking.”
But he was surprised by Mini’s – her nickname owing to her size – defensive effort, particularly her ability to win aerial battles. “The defensive performance from her was also world-class in my opinion.”
New Zealand came in with a clear plan to shut down Gorry on Tuesday night, compressing the space in the midfield and restricting her time on the ball.
Gustavsson said: “I had an individual talk with Mini and said ‘they probably have a plan how to take you away’, because she was so dominant in that first one. They’d done their homework and they took away the space away from her tonight.”
Yet she was still effective – her movement off the ball created spaces for teammates to exploit, while she again demonstrated a remarkable ability to maintain possession in tight spaces and move the ball forward.
Gustavsson said: “ … even if she’s pressed she can turn on a dime and get out. Even if she wasn’t as impactful on the game (as last time) I think she still had a huge impact on the game.”
With 19-year-old playmaker Mary Fowler the only player besides Sam Kerr to play in all 22 of Gustavsson’s matches so far, one of the biggest questions Gustavsson must answer is what midfield combination should play behind her. In Gorry, Gustavsson looks to have found his quarterback.
She boasts a unique skill-set, and her composure on the ball – and ability to progress it forwards against a packed defence – could be even more important against top-tier opponents.
The big question that remains is who plays beside her.
3. Wasteful attack despite three-pronged improvements
Two wins and six goals scored. Those are the good stats. The bad one is this: it took the Matildas 60 shots to score those five goals. There was some superb New Zealand goalkeeping, and the post played a role on more than one occasion, but the Matildas’ attack was nevertheless extremely wasteful.
Friday’s game should have been won well before the two goals in stoppage time. Tuesday’s started with three goals in 32 minutes – and a host of misses thereafter. It didn’t burn the Matildas in terms of results this time around, but there will be games where the Matildas cannot create 30 shots and must take the chances when they do arrive.
It is a clear priority for Gustavsson, who said: “We played well in that first game against New Zealand but we didn’t capitalise on our chances so we spent a lot of time doing reviews in training and talking about the final pass and finishing.
“The players were 100% focused on that final third tonight, especially in the first half.”
Even superstar striker Sam Kerr was guilty of missing golden chances against New Zealand, just as she missed a critical opportunity against South Korea at the Asian Cup.
But Gustavsson pointed out that the Matildas are beginning to score goals in a range of different scenarios.
“Tonight, from the fifth minute until our third goal, we were playing phenomenal football and I liked the variation of how we scored goals: We’re good at transition, we’re good at breaking down organised teams who park the bus, and we’re good at set plays.”
On Tuesday, there was a clear focus on long balls over the top of the New Zealand defence, aimed at getting the best out of Sam Kerr. It is a strategy that the Matildas have overused in recent years – perhaps understandably given she is the finest striker in the world. But the offence has sometimes stagnated against opponents who sit deeper and reduce the space behind for Kerr to run into.
It is a good sign that the Matildas looked to play quick passing combinations in the final third in this series, as well as play it wide and allow dangerous wide players like Hayley Raso and Ellie Carpenter to take on fullbacks.
Good teams score goals in a variety of ways. The Matildas must be more clinical in the future, but they found a way to score.
4. The brutal 10-year reality facing Matildas – and the next step in WC prep
While victory over New Zealand in both games is a welcome boost for Gustavsson’s Matildas, the 22nd-ranked Football Ferns are not at the level of the elite opponents the Matildas must beat to make a deep run at the World Cup.
And the stark reality is that the Matildas have struggled woefully against top nations – not just under Gustavsson, but for over a decade.
“I’ve said it from day one that one of the things that was identified before I even came (into the Matildas coaching position) was the results against top-ranked nations,” Gustavsson said last week.
“From 2011 to 2020, those 10 years (if) you look only at tournament games against top-ranked nations, you will see really bad stats, to be really frank and honest.
“We need to play those top nations more to be prepared the next time we play them.
“Statistically, the expectation has been that we win a lot of games, but we have played too many low rank teams in the past, in my opinion, to be prepared for tournaments.”
In the decade from 2011 to 2020, the Matildas – currently 12th in the world – played 123 matches. 42 of those came against teams in the top 10 in the world at the time.
The Matildas won 16 times and drew five of those 42 matches, good enough for a solid 38 per cent win record. But as Gustavsson alludes to, just three of those 16 victories came in tournaments: against Brazil at the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, and over Norway at the 2011 World Cup.
Those three victories came from 20 attempts – a win record of just 15 per cent. It is a damning statistic.
Compared to this historical record compiled over a decade by five separate managers, Gustavsson’s record against top teams is reasonable.
The Matildas have now played 22 matches under Tony Gustavsson, whose first fixtures in charge took place almost exactly a year ago.
Of those matches, the Matildas have won eight, drawn four, and lost 10 – a 36.36 per cent victory ratio that is the worst of any Matildas coach this century.
But a full 12 of the 22 games under Gustavsson came against opponents ranked in the top 10 – 13 if you include the Great Britain Olympics team that was almost exclusively comprised of English players.
Australia won two of those 13 games: a 3-2 win over GB at the Olympics, and a 3-1 friendly victory over a second-string Brazil team in Sydney in October. The Matildas drew four and lost seven of those thirteen matches.
That’s a win ratio of just over 15 per cent – on par with the Matildas’ record for the past decade.
But there’s more to it than the win record. As stated above, the Matildas have played 13 matches against top-10 opponents in the year under Gustavsson. In the ten years before his tenure, they played 42 games against top 10 opponents.
Gustavsson has deliberately exposed the Matildas to top opponents time and again in a brutal baptism of fire, the likes of which has not been seen in recent years.
There are seven international windows remaining before the World Cup arrives, with the Matildas able to play up to 15 matches in total.
By the time World Cup arrives, it would not be surprising if the Matildas have played 20 or 25 matches against top-10 rivals under Gustavsson – as many games in two or three years as they would normally play in half a decade.
That experience could be crucial to ending Australia’s miserable record in tournaments against the top teams.