Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has Olympics in his sights after Perth clean sweep

The Matildas’ final path to the Olympics is now clear after a Perth clean sweep and the coach has indicated whether he’ll be going on the ride as well.

Mary Fowler celebrates after scoring against Chinese Taipei. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

The 13 goals in three Olympic qualifiers the Matildas scored were good, but the fact they didn’t concede any brought a smile to coach Tony Gustavsson’s face as evidence of just how far his team has come.

Improvements in individuals have also created the nicest kind of headache for Gustavsson, whose outfit will now take on Uzbekistan in a two-legged playoff in February to secure a spot at the Paris Olympics.

It’s the best-case scenario for the Matildas who have avoided a clash with Japan, ranked No.8 in the world, and one of a raft of positives to come out of the series in Perth during which more Australian talent emerged.

But while Gustavsson gave game time to 22 players with great effect in three wins over Iran, the Philippines and Chinese Taipei, the coach also knows he can only take 18 to Paris for the Games, should they qualify.

He basically ruled out anyone not in the squad now being any chance of working their way in.

“I‘m happy with the development of players and development of the team, but I’m not happy when I think about potentially announcing the roster for the Olympics because that’s going to be a very, very tough job,” Gustavsson said.

“Considering how well this team is performing right now, it‘s going to be a very small chance to break into this team for people outside of it.

“That doesn‘t mean you can’t come in, but it’s going to be difficult because we’re performing very well.”

Tony Gustavsson has a tough task settling on his final roster for the Olympics should the Matildas qualify. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

The Matildas had to rally from a 0-0 scoreline in the final game against Taiwan on Wednesday night, coming off a mammoth 8-0 thrashing of the Philippines in which Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord scored hat-tricks in the best and most fluid performance of the three matches.

It took some Mary Fowler magic to spark the Matildas, who dominated the visitors who “parked the bus” to try to thwart every Australian attacking effort.

That helped the Matildas keep their opposition scoreless and not conceding a goal in any game was a huge takeaway for Gustavsson.

“Three clean sheets may be what I’m most happy about,” he said.

“When I came on-board three years ago, everyone talked about this being a leaky defence and we needed to fix things.

“And these were three teams that parked the bus in transition, and you can be vulnerable in that.

“But we were clinical in our regains to win the ball back to stop the transition.

Mary Fowler was a star for the Matildas in Perth. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

“We’ve kept 13 clean sheets over the last year now.

“And attacking-wise, I‘m happy that we show more variation against the parked bus.

“There’s more combination play, there’s much more variation in this camp than before.”

The Matildas will finish off a massive 2023 with games against Canada before taking on Uzbekistan on February 24 in an away clash, with Australia to host game two at a yet-to-be-decided venue four days later for a spot in Paris.

And with speculation around Gustavsson and the vacant US job, the Matildas coach gave every indication he’s not going anywhere.

“I love this team and we have unfinished business to do,” he said.

“It has been such a privilege to be involved in this (team).”

Originally published as Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has Olympics in his sights after Perth clean sweep