Why I still have faith that the Matildas can keep their Olympic dream alive

It’s fair to say the Matildas’ first two performances in Paris have been unconvincing, to say the least. But their Olympic campaign is not over just yet.

Parts of the media have turned on them already, but I know these players, and they won’t even be aware of what’s in the headlines at the moment. They lived through something similar during the World Cup last year, after the defeat to Nigeria, and that experience would have given them a special skill set. Australia, the country, is pretty quick to dump on an underperforming team, and now that there are expectations on the Matildas, it’s easy to point fingers.

Michelle Heyman celebrates the Matildas’ win over Zambia.Credit: AP

But I know what would be happening in camp, too, and I would never count this team out. After that 6-5 win over Zambia, the players would have just said, “Turn the page.” Tony Gustavsson is highly meticulous, highly organised and a very professional coach with very high standards. It would be full focus on what they have to do to get what they need out of Thursday morning’s clash against the United States. With the way this tournament works, a draw is enough to book a spot in the knockout phase, and we’ve done it before.

The first thing is grit. When the Matildas are in a tough situation, they always seem to come through. That’s the never-say-die attitude we always talk about, and we don’t have to look too far to find examples of this, but Zambia is the latest. I don’t think they’ll be taking too much else out of that game – most of it would have gone into the bin, but the energy they would have taken from it can help power their next task.

I’ve heard some people talking about the Matildas’ trademark spirit, wishing we didn’t have to rely on it so often. I see it differently. The way this team plays, and the way it gets itself out of difficult situations, is precisely why everyone loves the Matildas. I’m not talking about this generation, either. It’s a historic thing. And when you dig deeper, and think about the reasons why we love sport, it’s the emotional journey that draws people in – all those great stoic role models, players who always give their best. It’s that type of character profile that is a huge part of the reason why this country has fallen in love with this team.

Would we still love them as much if they easily won, if they were just this consistent, boring team? I don’t think so.

The second thing is the circumstances around the US team. They’ve already qualified for the knockouts, so we don’t know how much value they’re going to put on this game.

If you remember the last Olympics in Tokyo, our third group fixture was also against the US, and both the Matildas and the Americans needed a draw to get through. It finished 0-0. This isn’t that different: the Matildas need a draw, and the US don’t need anything, aside from coming away with no fresh injuries. In fact, they might take the opportunity to rest their best players. Maybe they won’t have their heart in it as much as we will. And that’s important because in professional sport, if your psychological motivation isn’t at the level required, it doesn’t matter how good you are – if you play against a team that wants to win more than you, you’ll lose.

We didn’t start well at the World Cup, either. I had no doubt the Matildas would beat Canada, but I didn’t think they’d play as well as they did. It was a level I’d never seen the Matildas reach before – we were first to every ball and played with so much aggression and tenacity. It was like a cyclone hit Canada and they weren’t expecting it.

That’s what could happen against the US. If we come out with that much aggression and tenacity, the Americans won’t be ready for it, or want to handle it, while already focused on their quarter-final. Or maybe it’s the 80th minute and it’s 0-0 again. It would be a bizarre situation, but if both teams are happy with that, you have to be strategic.

Elise Kellond-Knight will appear as a soccer expert on Stan Sport’s Olympics Daily and Paris Preview shows throughout the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Every event from Paris 2024 will be streaming ad-free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.