Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson wary of Olympic qualifying opponents in Perth as World Cup weaknesses front of mind
If the Matildas are to take the next step towards Olympic qualification, coach Tony Gustavsson must address their World Cup shortcomings, writes ELIZA REILLY.
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The Matildas’ push to turn 2023 World Cup pain into 2024 Olympic glory begins this week in Perth and coach Tony Gustavsson has outlined key areas the Australians must address if they are to improve on their recent fourth-placed finish.
First up, the Matildas face Iran on Thursday night at HBF Park. Clashes against the Philippines and Chinese Taipei will follow. Football Australia announced on Wednesday morning that all three Olympic qualifiers had sold out, ensuring the Matildas will play in front of another 100,000 fans.
For Gustavsson, the three qualifiers represent not only an opportunity for the Matildas to play in front of a WA audience denied the opportunity to host them at the World Cup, but also the chance to address shortcomings evident during the tournament.
“Some of the takeaways we took out of the World Cup, football specific, is that in terms of our pressing game, we were one of the most efficient teams in the World Cup in terms of pressing efficiency,” Gustavsson said. “That was one of the key reasons we went as far as we did.
“In terms of the regain, when we lost the ball and won it back, we were not as good as the other top teams. We need to improve in that direct pressing game. The stats show that very clearly. That’s one of our improvement areas we’re going to focus on.
“When it comes to the attacking side of the game, we want to play a fast attack style of play and get behind the defence. We were one of the best teams in the World Cup at breaking that last line of defence and our efficiency of getting in behind the opposition defence … we were one of the top teams statistically in the World Cup.
“But an improvement area, in terms of getting in behind the forwards and midfield line and playing through, we were not good at all … (and) we need to get better at.”
Many are expecting the Matildas to waltz through their next three games and advance their chances of qualifying for Paris but, while ranked a lowly 63, Iran nonetheless made history by qualifying for their first-ever Asian Cup.
The Philippines, meanwhile, enter the tournament ranked 44th but under new coach Mark Torcaso, who also coaches Western United’s A-League women’s side, Las Filipinas are expected to be the sternest test for the Matildas. And then, in the final game, the Matildas meet three-time Asian champions and 38th-ranked side Chinese Taipei.
Gustavsson said all three sides could punish the Matildas and exploit weaknesses.
“You look at all these three teams and the scouting job that our analysts and ourselves have done is they’re very well organised and structured,” he said.
“The other thing that stands out and I’m impressed with is their technical ability. If you look at their technical ability on the ball, if you give them time and space, all three teams are very good on the ball. I come back to our improvement areas on the regain and the pressing, if we’re not doing that compact and together aggressively, all three teams can hurt us with their technique, especially in small spaces with their turns and passing games.
“They’re not going to give us much space and normally we need space to be successful so we need to unlock space to be creative and get in behind.”
The week’s biggest drawcard, hometown hero Sam Kerr, is continuing to manage a calf concern that severely impacted her World Cup campaign.
“All of us would love to see Sam Kerr play 90 minutes every game in front of friends and family. I’d love to play her 90 minutes. But … we’ve always said we want to have a healthy high-performance culture here with a player-centric approach,” Gustavsson said.
“Considering she’s come back from injury recently, she hasn’t played 90 minutes in a long time, not for club either with that calf issue, we need to be extremely mindful.
“I’m going to go on the recommendation of my SSSM (sports science, sports medical) team who are experts in this field and they work very closely with Chelsea as well. We want Sam to be in form and play as many minutes as they can for both club and country.”
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