Australia hosting the women’s 2023 World Cup could hinge on Asian Cup final success

THE Matildas will be carrying the weight of convincing FIFA and the federal and state governments Australia is worthy of hosting the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

Val Migliaccio in Amman

3 min read

April 19, 2018 - 12:06PM

The Matildas celebrate winning their Asian Cup semi-final against Thailand.

THE Matildas will be carrying the weight of convincing FIFA and the federal and state governments Australia is worthy of hosting the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

Winning the AFC Asian Cup final in a clash against 2011 World Cup champion and reigning Asian champion Japan at Amman Stadium on Saturday will add so much more strength to Australia’s bid as it works to host the biggest single women’s team sports event on the planet.

Although Japan has caused the Matildas so much sorrow at big tournaments in the past coach Alen Stajcic believes the torment is about to come to an end.

The Matildas celebrate winning their Asian Cup semi-final against Thailand.

After escaping from a shock defeat to Thailand in the AFC Asian Cup semi-final at King Abdullah II Stadium on Wednesday via a 3-1 penalty shootout win after a 2-2 draw in 120 minutes, Stajcic says the Matildas will take on the Japanese with confidence.

Japan held Australia to a 1-1 draw last week which saw the Matildas top Group B whereas the Japanese finished second and beat Group A winners China 3-1 in the semi final.

“They’ve got the technical and the smarts to unpick you but if we play to our strengths and deny them playing to their strengths we’re stronger than them,’’ Stajcic said.

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Japan’s record against the Matildas when it counts suggests otherwise.

Japan beat Australia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final in Vietnam in 2014 and a year later 1-0 at the FIFA World Cup quarterfinal in Canada.

The last time Australia caused misery upon the Japanese at a major tournament was at the 2010 Asian Cup where the Matildas beat Japan 1-0 in the semi-final before being crowned the Queens of Asia for the first time.

Stajcic also welcomed another aspect to the Matildas game when critics voiced their concerns after Australia scraped past Thailand.

Japan forward Kumi Yokoama celebrates in the semi-final against China.

It wasn’t long ago the Matildas had escaped any public assessment regardless of performance.

“Critique is a good thing as long as it’s fair and reasonable,’’ Stajcic said.

“We’re all accountable for the decisions we make and there’s always things to learn in good and bad moments.

“It wasn’t our best performance, it was probably the one we struggled in the most since I have been head coach.

“It’s easy to find issues in the game that we have to fix tactically and technically, that’s not hard.”

However the biggest issue Stajcic and his team face is whether the Matildas recover physically and from the emotions of playing 120 minutes as the penalty shootout raised the stress levels before Sam Kerr popped in the winner from 12 yards.

Alen Stajcic is confident the Matildas can beat Japan. Picture: Val Migliaccio

Stajcic also revealed Kerr and Emily van Egmond weren’t expected to play any part in the clash against Thailand but he was forced to unleash the pair for more than 50 minutes.

Kerr and van Egmond helped salvage the semi final horror show.

“Now it comes down to physical endurance and the mental capacity to bounce back,’’ Stajcic said.

“A lot of the players were emotional after the game and now it’s up to all of us to bounce back very quickly.

“There’s no reason why we can’t bounce back as quickly as what we need to.”

AFC ASIAN CUP FINAL

Japan v Australia at Amman Stadium

Kick off: Saturday 3am (EST)

TV: Fox Sports

Possible Matildas starting II

Formation: 4-3-3

Goalkeeper: Williams

Defenders: Carpenter, Kennedy, Catley, Kellond-Knight