Matildas’ Paris Olympics campaign over after 2-1 defeat to United States
The Matildas’ Olympic campaign is over after going down to the USA, with unwanted history made by the Australian team.
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The Matildas Olympic dreams are in tatters – their gallant effort against a seemingly unstoppable USA side too little too late to get them through to the quarterfinals.
It is the first time the Matildas, in their five Olympic appearances, have failed to get out of the group stage.
A big slump from their fourth placed finishes in Tokyo and last year’s World Cup.
The Matildas went into the match needing a draw or a win to guarantee progress.
They walked away with a 1-2 loss – a late goal from Alanna Kennedy, like their Olympic campaign, was too little too late.
Players were left to watch the deciding match between Canada and Colombia from the change rooms. A Canada loss or draw would have seen them progress – but it wasn’t to be with the reigning Olympic champions taking victory.
Overall, the Matildas’ game was a solid performance. They kept the USA at bay for 44 minutes.
But the results from this Olympic campaign will have alarm bells ringing at Football Australia headquarters.
The Matildas went in with the promise of winning their first major tournament in 14 years.
Instead they leave after just three matches – with just one scrappy win to their name.
Coach Tony Gustavsson was proud of the team’s efforts against the USA. Admitting post match it was alway going to be tough, with the USA the best team in the world right now.
“There has never been a question mark on any single player when it comes to commitment or wanting to give it 100 per cent,” Gustavsson said after the game.
“What we have talked about is the form going into this tournament, considering the amount injuries we had in the six months and the lack of club minutes and maybe also the lack of games against top ranked opposition, we’ve done everything we can to control the controllables and make the team as ready as possible.”
It failed though – with Gustavsson declaring the team wasn’t ready after their lacklustre 0-3 loss to Germany in their opening game.
“We feel the form now is actually better then when the tournament started, it is almost like club land when you are in pre-season – the first couple of games you need to grow into it and I think the performance tonight shows that we are definitely ready for this type of opposition.”
It is not the first time this tournament Gustavsson has mentioned the team’s preparation. But after a month-long camp in Spain and a team of 20 people creating the perfect high performance environment – questions remain about why the Matildas needed to go through two games to reach their peak.
The whole team was left gutted by the result. Understandably so. Executing Gustavasson’s defensive based game plan was mentally and physically draining.
It was a brave plan given defence had been the Matildas’ major downfall at these Games.
But Gustavsson said it was something they had been planning the entire camp.
“It wasn’t something we made up yesterday to play a 5-2-3 we had planned to mirror the shape,” Gustavsson said.
“I think we did that brilliantly, the defenders played brilliantly.”
Credit to Gustavsson – it almost paid off.
The Matildas, thanks to the impressive glovework of Mackenzie Arnold, thwarted every one of the American’s attacking plays – they had nine shots in the first half.
But as in previous games these Olympics a set piece was their undoing – with Trinity Rodman knocking a ball past Arnold off a corner kick. The goal was subjected to a lengthy and farcical VAR review after protests from the Matildas.
The referee twice checked the replay after the VAR system appeared to fail – but ultimately awarded the goal and handed Gustavsson a yellow card for his antics.
The Matildas had to dig deep to keep the USA out for the extra 10 minutes added to the opening half to make up for the delay.
Gustavsson said still wasn’t confident the right decision had been made.
The second half had a more subdued start – USA still attacked but much less furiously with the goal already in their pocket.
The Matildas were still happy to let them have the ball – looking to keep them from scoring any more – biding their time for the perfect chance to stage an attack.
They didn’t have to wait long but without a dedicated striker on the pitch they struggled to make the most of their chances.
Gustavsson pulled on Michelle Heyman, much to the crowd’s approval, and Emily van Egmond in the 57th minute in a desperate attempt to equalise the score.
It certainly changed the dynamic – the Matildas immediately staging an attack.
At the 66th minute Australia had managed just two shots to America’s 14.
With just 20 minutes left on the clock the Matildas were still copping heavy fire and had had just 29 per cent of the ball.
USA’s striker Korbin Albert found a way to slip through – putting them 0-2 up with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
Credit to the Matildas they didn’t give up as the time ran down – sticking to their never say die mantra.
But they just didn’t have the answers to the slick USA outfit, who remain undefeated these Olympics under new coach Emma Hayes.
Originally published as Matildas’ Paris Olympics campaign over after 2-1 defeat to United States
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