Paris Olympics 2024: Matildas fitness called into question after horror first up display in France

The Matildas’ fitness is under scrutiny and their preparation will be put under the microscope in the wake of the nightmare loss to Germany.

The Matildas’ fitness is under scrutiny and their preparation will be put under the microscope in the wake of the nightmarish loss to Germany at the Olympics.

A full-scale review at the end of the Paris Olympics is expected to sharply focus on the Matildas’ conditioning program with many players running out of steam in their opening 3-0 defeat in Marseille.

The heat is on the side and Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson himself admitted the team was not up to scratch, despite 24 hours earlier stating they were “ready”, noting Germany were physically a superior team. The Matildas were out-muscled and didn’t have the speed to beat the football powerhouse.

“Now when I say these things about match fitness and tempo that is not excuses at all, it’s just explaining where we are at right now and I think you can explain why we lose so many one-on-one duels,” Gustavsson said. “This team physically normally, wins all the one-on-one duels, we are aggressive, our speed beats teams, but that wasn’t there tonight.”

Steph Catley leading the team out for the second half of the Matildas’ loss to Germany.

Internally their performance is being described as a “train-wreck”.

The Matildas were sluggish while the German team, which didn’t have a break following the players’ competition duties and launched straight into preparing for the Games, looked strong and were quick in contrast to Australia.

In the wake of the loss, questions have also been raised over the choice for some Matildas to take a break and holiday, before launching into the almost month long training camp in the resort city of Marbella.

The Matildas were comprehensively outplayed by Germany. Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

While the Matildas played ferociously during the home World Cup which saw them finish in fourth place, some believe the team is missing the expertise of Jack Sharkey who oversaw the sports science program for Football Australia’s women’s national teams.

Sharkey left last year to take up a Director of Performance and Innovation role with Olympique Lyonnais Groupe.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson, Australian Sports Commission heavies Kieren Perkins and Kate Jenkins, were all in the crowd in Marseille on Thursday night for the team’s opening game which was played in front of around 10,000 fans at Marseille Stadium. The team’s last 14 home matches have sold out at big venues like Accor Stadium, Adelaide Oval, Marvel Stadium and Optus Oval. Many Matildas fans had made the pilgrimage to France to watch the team.

No expenses were spared for Australia’s most popular sporting team in the lead up to the Games. The Matildas staffing levels are at an all time high, with 23 staff for the 22 players. The team caught a private charter flight from Spain to Marseille for the match.

However, some looking in from the outside like former Matildas coach Tom Sermanni said the team’s hyper focus on high performance and intense pre-Games camp could have been a step too far.

Players described the camp as “intense” with lots of running in hot conditions in a bid to condition them for the tight turn around between games and stifling French climate.

Sermanni, the longest serving Matildas coach, said a month was a long lead into a tournament.

“There’s a real balance going into a tournament to get the players fresh and ready to go,” Sermanni said.

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“Sometimes if your pre camp is too long then the players get into groundhog day mode and sort of feel more like going home.

“If you don’t have a long enough camp then you go in underprepared and that can get you into strife. So it is a challenge to get the balance right.”

The Matildas camp in Spain was brutal - all the players have said that.

They were coming in off a long season in Europe, off the back of a tough World Cup.

There was plenty of travel around the world with Olympic qualifiers in Australia and Uzbekistan, matches in Mexico and then back in Australia.

Sermanni said that all plays a part when it comes to putting together a pre-tournament camp plan.

“When you’re in the planning phase it’s not haphazard, you do have a deliberate methodology going into the tournament - sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it a little bit off,” he said.

Originally published as Paris Olympics 2024: Matildas fitness called into question after horror first up display in France