Matildas ‘over-achieved’ at 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

A core group of Matildas players that have been part of the national team for several years need to take responsibility for the side’s current form.

Matildas players are growing increasingly frustrated with the time it’s taking Football Australia to appoint a permanent coach for the national women’s team – but that shouldn’t be an excuse for the side’s poor form.

That’s the belief of Matildas great Joey Peters, who has applauded FA for holding off on naming a new coach until the right person is found for the job.

And according to Peters, that “right” coach must be a mentor who knows what it takes to succeed in tournaments, rather than one-off matches.

Under interim coach Tom Sermanni, whose temporary tenure has now extended to nine matches and almost six months, the Matildas have just completed a disastrous She Believes Cup campaign.

They finished last in the four-nation tournament with no points from three matches following losses to Japan (4-0), USA (2-1) and Colombia (2-1).

With the AFC Women’s Asian Cup – which Australia is hosting – only 12 months away, concern is growing the Matildas aren’t good enough to win the continental crown.

Defender Clare Hunt described the team’s She Believes Cup debacle as a “massive wake-up call” and called for “surety” from FA in finding a new coach.

Sources close to the team have revealed that the players’ patience is being well and truly tested when it comes to FA’s delay with naming a permanent successor for Swede Tony Gustavsson, who left the job after the Matildas’ poor Paris Olympics display last year.

It’s understood that uncertainty over Gustavsson’s coaching future before the Olympics, and speculation that he was seeking other jobs, left players feeling unsettled and might have been a factor in their poor Paris form.

Matildas pair Hayley Raso (left) and Kyra Cooney-Cross reflect on their team’s loss to Colombia. Picture: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

However, Peters, who made 110 appearances for the national team between 1996 and 2009, believes Australia’s players must take responsibility for their performances, regardless of the coaching situation.

“The players had their own meeting after the 4-0 loss to Japan, and that’s what needs to happen more,” the former Australian women’s footballer of the year said.

“The players need to have their own meetings rather than be looking to the sidelines to have someone tell them what to do. They have played together for a long time.

“I feel for the girls at the moment because they have played together for such a long time, and then you hear things like they’re not gelling, but they should be able to go on to the field and understand the player you’ve been playing next to for your whole life, but you can’t necessarily rely on that either.

“We’re being shown up on the basics as Australian players.”

Possession and playing “closer together”

Peters said the Matildas needed to be compact both in and out of possession.

“I’d love to see us get closer together to get more numbers around the ball when we have the ball,” she said.

“There’s that traditional mindset to stay compact without the ball, and make the field as big as possible when you do have the ball, but we’re missing that sense of the small-sided games.

“Our possession is still far apart. The closer the players are together, then you can keep the ball.”

Matildas great Joey Peters (left) has spoken out about the coaching situation. Photo: News Limited

Make the best use of Mary Fowler

Peters said keeping the ball for longer periods would also help get the best out of star playmaker Mary Fowler, who has often been unable to replicate her club form for Manchester City when playing for Australia.

However, getting Fowler into the game more is a task easier said than done for the current Matildas squad.

“As a team when you’re struggling just to make a pass. it’s hard to then go to the next step and get a certain player on the ball more,” Peters said.

“People are wanting to blame Tommy (Sermanni) and Tony (Gustavsson) for not using Mary, but when it’s two different coaches, and she’s still not able to get on the ball as much as possible, other things have to be looked at.

“Mary has played all different types of positions. I feel like naturally you get more space out wide, but when she did play on the left for the Matildas, you did see her with her arms in the air saying ‘give me the ball’, and it wasn’t coming.”

Peters said it would be a similar task for the Matildas needing to feed Sam Kerr when the star striker returned from her knee injury.

“(It would be good) if we can deliberately get more people around Sam, but it comes back to needing to be closer together as a team. It’s one thing that would give them the opportunity to play differently.”

The Matildas are struggling to get the best out of Mary Fowler. Picture: Chris Coduto/Getty Images/AFP

Attack not the only issue

Peters said the Matildas also had defensive problems to rectify after conceding eight goals in three games at the She Believes Cup.

“I’m not sure why we don’t play five at the back (three central defenders, and two fullbacks/wing-backs) when we’ve got a leaky defence,” she said.

“When it’s obvious that we do have a defensive problem, put another person in there.

“I liked that Tony Gustavsson explored different formations because we need to do more of that.”

Expectations are too high

Regardless of whether all these matters were rectified, Peters said the Matildas also had to deal with the public expecting them to do well in every tournament since reaching the semi-finals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“I was amazed that they got that far. With that progress of women’s football around the world, we really were over-achievers in that tournament,” Peter said.

“Having done that, the expectation is we’ll be like that forever now, but that’s not the way it is with world football, particularly women’s football.

Peters says the side needs to work out how to best use Mary Fowler (left) and Sam Kerr. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images)

“We still find it hard to accept losing in Australia, which has its good and bad points.

“We don’t usually perform well in tournaments. Why is that? Because we just play one-off games in our culture.

“We just play one game a week. If we want to be serious long-term about being world football contenders, for me it needs to be kept really simple. Why can’t we play mini-World Cup tournaments in most sessions when kids come to play football?

“People just think that’s just a fun session … but (it could be a reason) why we don’t do well in tournaments.”

Remain patient with coaching appointment

Peters said if the Matildas wanted to do well at next year’s Women’s Asian Cup, a “specialised” overseas coach that had tasted tournament success would be a huge help.

“I agree with FA (for taking time to make the appointment). For me, there should be no timeline on it,” she said.

“The Matildas are hitting their rough patch. It’s a good time for them to actually go through a lull as all teams do, especially without a coach.

“We’re all too quick to either blame the current coach or say that there’s an immediate need for that full-time coach that we’re been searching for.

“Tom Sermanni has been perfect for this role to help them come together as a group.”

Originally published as Matildas ‘over-achieved’ at 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup