Matildas learn valuable lesson from pre-Olympic loss to Brazil in final hitout before Rio

MATILDA Larissa Crummer said there’s still room for “heaps of improvement” but it’s not all bad after Australia’s 3-1 loss to Brazil in a pre-Olympic warm-up.

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MATILDA Larissa Crummer said there’s still room for “heaps of improvement” but it’s not all bad after Australia’s 3-1 loss to Brazil in a pre-Olympic warm-up.

Crummer said lessons have been learned from the defeat at the hands of the Olympic host nation in Fortaleza on Sunday after the Australians lead their final warm-up match before the Rio Games 1-0 at halftime.

The 20-year-old forward said there are also encouraging signs for the Matildas who are returning to the Olympic arena for the first time since the Athens Games back in 2004.

Crummer, who made her professional debut for Sydney FC as a 16-year-old, scored Australia’s only goal in a match where Matilda Katrina Gorry was sent off early in the second half for a second bookable offence.

This saw the Matildas play a woman down for 40 minutes and Brazil score twice.

W-League Golden Boot winner Larissa Crummer scored the only goal of the match for the Matildas.

“We’ve learned a lot. We know our fitness is good but we need to be mentally up for the challenge,’’ Crummer said from Brazil.

“The good thing was while we played with a man down we really dug deep as a team which is really good.

“So definitely we have things to work on, room to improve, But the fact we didn’t put our heads down is a real positive.’’

The Matildas on Monday head to São Paulo to begin final preparations for their first match of the Olympics against Canada on August 4 AEST, two days before the Opening ceremony.

The Matildas will then take on world No. 2 Germany in Sao Paulo three days later before a final group game against 95th-ranked Zimbabwe in Salvador on August 10.

The top two teams in each group of the women’s football competition will qualify for the knockout stage, with the top two ranked third-placed teams also advancing.

The Matildas are considered medal contenders ahead of their return to the Olympic arena after a two-Games absence.