Paris Olympics 2024: Australia v Uzbekistan qualifier, latest team news
Stand-in skipper Steph Catley has opened up on the challenge confronting the Matildas in Tashkent as they prepare for a crucial first leg of their Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan.
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Failing to qualify for the Olympics isn’t an option for the Matildas, who are desperate to prove they deserve to be considered one of the world’s best women’s football teams.
Fourth-placed finishes at last year’s World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics has the Australians intent going at least one better by finishing among the medals at this year’s Paris Games.
To have the chance to be on the dais, the Matildas must beat Uzbekistan over two legs, the first of which takes place in Tashkent on Saturday night.
“It’s hard to look too far ahead,” Matildas star Steph Catley said.
“Our ultimate goal is to be at the Olympics, and we’ve got two games to make sure we do that.
“This team is always about … getting the most out of ourselves every step we go.
“These games against Uzbekistan are must-wins. That’s the aim. You can’t think too far ahead, but want to be at those Olympics, and this team needs to be there and needs to be competing with the best in the world.
“We’ve got to get that job done first, and then we’ll think for the rest of 2024.”
Catley was named captain of the Matildas squad in the absence of the injured Sam Kerr, who also won’t be at the Olympics if the Australians qualify after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee.
However, Catley suffered a head knock playing for her club side Arsenal last weekend, and it’s uncertain whether she will play in the first leg.
Regardless of her availability, Catley was confident the Matildas would be celebrating Olympics qualification at the conclusion of Wednesday night’s second leg at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.
“We know if we all bring our best it will help control the result,” she said.
“These games can be quite frustrating some times, if they decided to play quite defensively.
“We don’t know that that’s going to happen but we’re preparing for all sorts of different situations.
“We just need to make sure we’re at our best on the ball, off the ball, bring the intensity, bring the confidence and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”
Catley wasn’t concerned by the prospect of extremely cold conditions in Tashkent despite the Matildas having been in camp this week in sunny Dubai.
“We’ve got a team that is very experienced and used to situations like that,” she said.
“We’ll just start mentally preparing for that, and then whatever the conditions are we’ll be ready.”
AFC WOMEN’S PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS – ROUND 3
Uzbekistan v Australia
Saturday, 8pm (AEDT)
Milliy Stadium, Tashkent
Broadcast: Network 10
Australia v Uzbekistan
Wednesday, 8pm (AEDT)
Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Broadcast: Network 10
NIGERIA WARNING SHOULD STEEL MATILDAS FOR UZBEK AMBUSH
Erin Smith
On paper, the Matildas should thrash Uzbekistan.
In reality, breaking through the country’s suffocating defensive set-up could be one of the toughest challenges yet for the Australian women’s team.
Uzbekistan is ranked 47th in the world, well below the 12th-placed Matildas.
While the Matildas are coming off impressive fourth-place finishes at the FIFA World Cup and Tokyo Olympics, Uzbekistan has never played in either event.
However, Uzbekistan can’t be counted out because the side has progressed to this stage of the Olympic qualifiers as the best-placed runner-up across the three groups.
Uzbekistan pulled off a shock 1-0 win over 37th-ranked Vietnam, beat India 3-0 and only lost 2-0 to Japan.
With the exception of the clash against India, Uzbekistan played a defensive style in which the side limited its attacking moves.
Against Vietnam, Uzbekistan had 41 per cent of the ball and had just three shots at goal compared to the opposition’s nine.
When tackling the more difficult Japan, Uzbekistan showed it had the discipline to keep its focus on defence.
Uzbekistan stayed compact in its half for the majority of the game when the side had just seven per cent of possession and took no shots on goal.
Japan scored twice early – the first from a corner, the second from a deflection in the box – and with top spot secured it happily played along with Uzbekistan’s defensive game.
The Matildas won’t have that option.
It’s a two-leg series that Australia must win on aggregate to secure a spot at the Olympics in July.
THE PLAN
Predicting what Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson plans to do is near impossible, which he showed at the World Cup.
Everything is riding on this series so Gustavsson is expected to start with a strong team that includes attacking stars Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Katrina Gorry, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Hayley Raso.
Defensive soldiers Alanna Kennedy, Ellie Carpenter and Clare Hunt are also favourites to be in the run-on side.
Beating a team that is willing and able to “park the bus” for 90 minutes is one of the hardest things to combat in football.
Especially for the Matildas, who like to play with a bit of freedom.
Chances are often few and far between, meaning you have to take them when they arise.
The clash against Nigeria at the World Cup, which the Matildas lost 3-2, is a prime example.
The Matildas had 65 per cent of possession and completed almost double the number of passes than Nigeria.
However, they didn’t convert their chances and opened the door for the fast-paced Nigerians to attack on the counter.
Uzbekistan, while not quite the same quality as Nigeria, poses a very similar threat.
If Uzbekistan plays as expected, the Matildas midfielders and forwards will have to work hard and be patient.
Playing defensive football for 90 minutes will be just as draining for Uzbekistan and one of the biggest advantages the Matildas have is depth.
Once Foord or Fowler, Gorry or Cooney-Cross start to tire, Gustavsson will have an impressive list of players on his bench waiting to step in.
That is when new faces Michelle Heyman, Sophie Harding and Kaitlyn Torpey could be given a chance.
Their instructions will be simple; get the ball at your feet and score.
THE CHALLENGES
A lot of outside forces add to the pressure of a must-win game.
Firstly, the Matildas will be without captain and super striker Sam Kerr.
They won games at the World Cup without her but Kerr offers so much more than her goal-scoring ability.
She is their leader, a calm presence who can get that little extra from the players in the dying minutes of a game.
While not on the field for the opening World Cup games, Kerr was in camp.
She still gave the pre-game pump-up speech, the halftime pep talk and constantly shouted support and advice from the bench.
The Matildas won’t have that this time around so it will be up to Steph Catley to steer the ship.
Then there is the travel.
With the majority of the Uzbekistan team playing in the country’s domestic competition, Australia certainly received the tougher travel schedule.
The Aussie-based players have had to jet to Dubai to join the European-based ones in camp before a three-hour flight to Tashkent for the match on Saturday.
They will then jump back on a plane for the 20-hour flight to Melbourne to be ready to play again on Wednesday night.
The weather is also a factor because it is supposed to reach just three degrees on Saturday in Tashkent.
While the European-based players will be accustomed to the cold, it will be a shock to the system for the A-League players.
The reverse will apply for the second leg in Melbourne.
They might seem like minor details but they can be huge hurdles to overcome, especially for the less-experienced Matildas.
THE MATCH
Despite the challenges posed by Uzbekistan, the travel, the weather and the absence of Kerr, the Matildas have all the keys to unlock a ticket to Paris.
They just have to use them correctly.
Foord and Fowler will have to work together seamlessly.
Gorry and Cooney-Cross will have to play the way they did at the World Cup.
Carpenter, Hunt and Kennedy will have to be flawless.
And Gustavsson will have to unleash the right players at the precise moments.
Originally published as Paris Olympics 2024: Australia v Uzbekistan qualifier, latest team news
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