I’m heartbroken. I desperately wanted the Matildas to win, go all the way and the 1-0 quarter-final loss highlighted football’s fine margins.
They had it in their hands and didn’t capitalise. It’s not like they were poor, didn’t create chances. They were dangerous. Some games it just doesn’t go your way.
Playing in the 2010 semi-final, Japan had 80 per cent possession and we won one-nil. They couldn’t find the back of the net and as a keeper you don’t think you’ll have such a game.
If 2023 wasn’t our home World Cup, it could have meant qualifying via complicated and precarious process.
This means plenty of questions will be asked.
Team and squad selection
The line-up and use of substitutes in the South Korea match was really odd for me. Yallop was unavailable due to Covid so this already meant our lineup needed changes.
The starting 11 was strong don’t get me wrong. So not starting Hayley Raso may have been tactical, but why didn’t she come on until the 90th minute?
I feel for Cortnee Vine, who was brought on, injected some forward runs and attacking vibrance but then taken off, which is never great for a player’s confidence. Cortnee has been in great form for Sydney FC this season and it was a great experience for her coming off the bench in the quarter-final.
But when you’ve got Raso, who’s been dominating in FAWSL for Manchester City and has big tournament experience, she appeared to be a more logical choice in such a pressure-cooker moment, with the Matildas’ Asian Cup fate on the line.
Another winger Emily Gielnik could also feel aggrieved at barely being used, coming on two minutes into stoppage time. Emily would have physically overpowered anyone.
You can only wonder if their recent bouts of injury played a part in these decisions.
Clare Wheeler, our only out and out holding midfielder, came off for Vine which meant Emily van Egmond ended up playing very deep. I don’t regard her as a number six – her qualities are best used further forward.
And no disrespect to Alanna Kennedy, who’s great in the air, but if you can’t get the ball into the box, what’s the point of putting her up top? It’s concerning because he practised that tactic against Indonesia – a team quite small in stature and still didn’t find her in the box. How was it going to work against an experienced South Korean side.
Even if you’re not meaning to, that sends a disheartening message to the strikers on the bench – Remy Siemsen, Holly McNamara and even Gielnik.
The coach, Tony Gustavsson, appears to be big with positive and inspiring messages, but then actions like that speak louder than words.
Mixed messages: Home or abroad? Don’t understate the A-Leagues
Taking a broader look at the squad composition, I really feel for a lot of the players, especially ones who didn’t make the squad.
Starting from the previous coach Ante Milicic, players were told they need to be overseas to be in contention for the national team.
That message has continued with Gustavsson, at least for some players. Making players make international moves in the hope of being selected downplays the A-Leagues. A case in point is Angela Beard, a dominant player who would have no doubt made a case for herself carving down the left side in her Melbourne Victory jersey. But her path took her to Iceland and Denmark. She was a stand out there but the competitions aren’t that demanding.
The local versus overseas discussion is not black and white. What many don’t understand is that some of the highest ranked clubs in the world might not even have toilets at their training facilities. Made to walk long distances or even pee mid-session in a discreet location off to the side.
Clearly our top 10 Matildas can get contracts anywhere and Sam Kerr’s Chelsea experience is at the top end of the scale. Once you go beyond the top echelon, it drops away really quickly in every sense – pay, quality and facilities.
The A-League Women’s league is underrated in terms of its quality.
Iceland and Denmark are not better than the A-League Women’s competition. They just run longer and give you more games.
The players brave enough to stay in the A-Leagues, credit to them. Cortnee Vine and Holly McNamara, who came from nowhere, made an impression at the Asian Cup certainly are worth persisting with.
I wouldn’t blame Gustavsson for anything outside of what he has organised in his Matildas camps.
Outside of those windows, he’s getting scouting reports from his coaching staff. Assistant Coach Mel Andreatta, is his ‘eyes and ears in Australia’.
The missing generation
I also believe a generation of players is being bypassed because everyone wants teens to breakthrough into the Matildas. I feel for a generation of players who think they haven’t ‘made it’ because they haven’t got into the Matildas squad at 17. The US national team’s debutants in the recent friendlies against the Matildas were all relatively mature – Casey Murphy (age 25), Bethany Balcer (24), Morgan Weaver (24) and Ashley Sanchez (22)
A balance is important and the young crop are too young to make a seismic difference to the 2023 World Cup campaign.
Beard (24) and others in that age bracket should not be discounted, for the physical and mental strength built up over a longer period are equipped to handle the pressure these tournaments hold.
Katrina ‘Mini’ Gorry should be in this team and they should have done whatever they needed to get her to the Asian Cup. Mini may have sighted safety issues in travelling to India but I also think if all requirements were accommodated, her worry would have dissipated.
Mini has been outstanding for Brisbane Roar since returning.
No more experiments: What is our playing style?
Moving forward, the time for experimenting is over. It’s about formulating a playing style that works for the group. Have we had a distinct shape, formation, etc? In my eyes, it keeps changing. Do we utilise the characters and strengths of the other world class players in the squad. Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley are arguably the best right and left back in the World. Can we see something that uses that?
We are 17 months away from hosting one of the biggest events in the world, the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The eyes and pressure of the nation will be on the Matildas, and there is plenty that can be done.
There is no distinct style other than getting the ball to Sam and hoping she does her magic. She’s a great player and when she’s playing at Chelsea, her teammates are within reach of her, there is a lot of combination play and linking up. She attracts the pressure to open space for others. Her assists are just as dangerous as her goals.
Sam is more than what we’re giving her credit for. She can hold the ball up, bring players into the game, she has wonderful variety to her game and creating more variety to our attacking play will benefit her and the team.
We also must have a Plan B, in having players that can replace her if she’s not having a good game or injured.
I reflect back on the Asian Cup in 2010 when I captained the team. Everyone sh*t their pants when Lisa De Vanna got injured, breaking her leg in the last group game versus China.
But coach Tom Sermanni knew we were more than Lisa and backed Kate Gill, who stood up. They both knew she wasn’t the same player as Lisa – Kate was our (Mark) Viduka, loved the ball at her feet rather than over the top – and the wingers such as Walshy (Sarah Walsh) were asked to do more, running in behind to attack the space that usually would have been vacated by Lisa.
Kate was 25 at the time, and had been exposed to international football, which helped.
Without any official games ahead, every camp, every match will be crucial. So any squad or camp needs to have a minimum of 25 players. Extend the squads, play games, play hard games, create a competitive environment.
Alen Stajcic got us to the 2015 World Cup and created history, as it was the first time we’d won a knock out stage match, beating Brazil 1-0.
In order to do that, we trained five days-a-week in Canberra for six months, and we’d go back home for the weekend. We made a lot of sacrifices – I had a kid, the girls gave up lucrative contracts overseas.
Gustavsson won’t have that luxury, but most of his players will be playing competitive matches, which is important. That means he has to work closely and communicate with clubs and coaches – in Australia and abroad.
I wouldn’t want a player to think they have to play overseas to make it. Good contracts are few and far between, so we need to think carefully about the environment we are forcing our places to endure in order to be in contention.
A lot of people don’t understand how much the Matildas love playing in the A-League women’s, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a few do return, although their existing contracts plus the timing and length of the season will be a factor.
Look beyond the current squad
I believe that Matildas selectors also need to cast the net far and wide in the lead up to 2023. There has been a strong concentration of NSW players, but there are so many teams and leagues in this country, so many talented players playing, we would be silly to discount them.
Someone like Melina Ayres, who had a super year with Melbourne Victory last season, although injury has hampered her this season, has never got a look-in. It was a similar story when she scored 41 goals for South Melbourne and yet was still overlooked for the Young Matildas, until a late call-up.
Football can be cruel. Performing at your best doesn’t guarantee victory. South Korea’s Ji So-yun – Kerr’s Chelsea teammate – is the only player for South Korea that could have scored such a remarkable goal with so little space.
We now need to learn and grow from it and make some hard calls. Every day counts between now and July 2023, when the World Cup kicks off.
