Just like the seemingly mismatched shorts and jersey combination worn by the Matilda’s in their quarterfinal against Sweden, there was something not quite right about their final appearance at the World Cup.
At this level, defensive mistakes are going to be punished, but the performance by the Matilda’s against the Swede’s should not be seen as being characteristic of this young side’s ability.
Here are five things we have learnt from the Matilda’s performances at the 2011 World Cup.
Tom Sermanni may be an Australian version of Arsene Wenger
Faith in a youth based policy and an average squad age below 25? Check
Defensive lapses undermining some otherwise encouraging performances? Check
Good eye for spotting and nurturing young talent and not being afraid to blood them? Check
Tom Sermanni has now taken the Matildas to three World Cups (1995, 2007, 2011) and has picked up a major trophy along the way (something which Wenger hasn’t managed to do in the last few years).
He gambled by taking a very young squad to a World Cup, but it has delivered returns in a big way and made a mockery of those who predicted turbulent times during a time of generational change for the team.
With an increasing talent pool to choose from the developing W-League, Sermanni’s greatest achievement may be yet to come – setting up the system and the foundations for success in the future.
Cheryl Salisbury’s don’t grow on trees
One of the points that will be picked over in the post World Cup analysis of the Matilda’s performance will be the frequency of the lapses by the defence.
The central pairing of Carroll and Uzunlar didn’t have the best of tournaments and probably did not play to their ability, but ensuring there is improvement across the back four will be a priority.
Errors at the back are often the best remembered because they can directly lead to goals and a leaky defence makes winning games much harder.
There was always going to be a big gap to fill after Cheryl Salisbury retired from the game and you cannot expect players to replace overnight the experience, pose and skill that comes with having over 150 caps for your country.
But Sermanni and his coaching team will need to find a player to be the new rock at the back who provides calm to the players around her. This is the type of player upon which the Matilda’s defence must be built.
Ellyse Perry’s future may be further up the park
David Beckham was blonde, a marketer’s dream, with a right foot which he used to spray accurate long and short passes to teammates all over the pitch.
Australia has a player who is blonde, a marketer’s dream, with a right foot which she uses to spray accurate long and short passes to teammates all over the pitch.
It is a testament to Ellyse Perry’s ability that her strike in the quarterfinal was hit with her weaker left foot (and with her goal she achieved what many others have failed to do – Fozzie was, for once, lost for words), but the facet of Perry’s play that has impressed me the most when I have watched Matilda’s games on TV or watched her play in person for her club Canberra United is her range of passing and distribution.
For club and country, Perry plays at right back with a licence to go forward, but perhaps her talents could be better utilised if she was unshackled from most of her defensive duties in the midfield.
Perry admitted in her post match comments that her defensive efforts may not have matched the same heights as her sublimely taken goal, but there could be a future for her to use her range of passing to influence play from positions deeper in the oppositions half as well as taking on a greater share of the free kicks.
Like many of the players in the squad, Perry is still maturing as a player and there is no doubt that fans of football in Australia will be watching the development of her career with great interest.
The Matildas are on their way to becoming Australia’s premier female national team
The Matildas have come a long way from having to make calendars to raise much needed funds for their sport.
Whilst they are not the number one female nation sporting team (a title arguably held by the Diamonds, Opals or Hockeyroos depending on who you talk to), their efforts in recent years both on and off the field have raised the profile of the women’s game in this country.
In addition, unless my ears were deceiving me, the sell out German crowd in the quarterfinal were cheering louder for the Australians than the Swede’s, so unless there was a selective editorial policy at SBS to turn up the crowd noise when Australia had the ball (let’s not go there), it would fair to conclude that the squad have been excellent ambassadors for their country during the tournament.
The administrators of the women’s game in this country must build on this momentum, take advantage of the opportunities and ensure that it is converted into tangible backing.
I can’t think of a better partnership than one between the Matildas and Sanitarium because there are some members of the squad who would actually meet the age requirements to be a ‘Weet Bix kid’.
Now is the time to grow the women’s game and help to ensure that the potential that exists becomes a reality for women’s football in Australia.
This team is one to watch for the future
In the quarterfinal, it was great to watch Caitlin Foord sprinting up field in the dying minutes of the quarterfinal, on a surging run into space, in a game what was probably a lost cause at that stage, because she looked as if she was enjoying every minute of her experience.
In the Norway game, Kyah Simon demonstrated that she could finish off a move as well as start one and that in a pairing with Lisa De Vanna, she could be the perfect foil.
If the coaching staff can match her raw talent and athleticism with a more mature footballing brain, then there are going to be some very worried defenders around the world.
With this young squad arguably going to get better over time, Australians have had the opportunity to see the core of the team not just for the next World Cup but possibly the next two beyond it.
The player that could break Cheryl Salisbury’s record of 151 caps for Australia may have taken to the field during this World Cup and if that player is part of a team that can compete and possibly win more major tournaments, then even the former Australian captain would probably be happy to see her record broken.
PeterK
Guest
I wonder how much of the magnificent improvement in media coverage comes from the games being on FTA -- and even the W-League being on FTA?
Aware
Guest
Even more stark now that Japan have made the final: a team we beat in the Asia Cup. Sermanni has Hiddink written all over his face.
Nathan
Guest
I'm from Perth, we have the Scottish Mafia in charge of the Glory, of course I'm not going to take issue with someone saying coaching is a jobs for the boys in Aus! A bit rich? Oh come on Fuss :) For the record, I do like what you write about association football, its just whenever anything goes codewar than you start driving me nuts. I wouldn't care except the rest of your stuff is so good!
JD
Guest
100% correct. It was very paternal of Tommy to select Servet (and not destroy her mentally), but Polkinghorne was significantly better in her limited opportunities. Shippard may have been injured, but if not was a "first player selected" based on performances, strength and stability. In the end I believe it was the continued selection of Uzunlar that got the Aussies, they looked terrified down the right side, and Sweden got their width there because we tucked in to shore up Uzunlar's weakness. A lot of excellent talent on show, Foord, Simon, Khamis and van Egmond have at least another two to three World Cups in them. Strengthen the defence and we go a lot further. And as an aside, the Germans were cheering for the Matildas because if we won, they qualified for the Olympics ahead of the Swedes, parochial and understandable.
Tortion
Guest
Surely you mean the Ladettes Fuss rather than girls.
Tortion
Guest
Millions of them.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
No. 1. I wasn't lamenting about anything ... I was simply making the point that the football landscape in Australia is not always "jobs for the boys" as grumpy had asserted. 2. Grumpy opined that the coaches in the HAL were 2nd rate. I provided evidence that the coach of the Championship winning AFL team from last season has admitted he borrowed strategies from Melbourne Heart's (allegedly 2nd rate) coach The points aren't related - apart from providing rebuttal for grumpy's assertions.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@ Nathan ... So, the poster named "grumpy" comes onto a discussion thread about the FIFA Women's WC and tries to lecture football fans that: "aussie soccer has a long way to go; it's a jobs for the boys mentality and second rate coaching etc etc." But, you think I'm the one with "alarming heated antagonism to rival sports??? Wow. .. that's a bit rich? Since, I haven't posted on any Forum other than Football for the past 3-4 months, if you don't like what I post .... don't read it!
Nathan
Guest
"By contrast, there would be no “game day strategies” that ANY HAL coach would bother leveraging from ARF or League." I take it you haven't seen Perth Glory's Ian Ferguson employing Jacob Burns. Granted, its not a GOOD strategy for the game... Malthouse was notably also one of the ones advocating European style promotion & relegation for the AFL, so he's very happy to drink deeply of that well. The modern forward press, which finds its most effective implementation at clubs like Collingwood and West Coast, certainly has roots in association football strategies. But yeah, as the Cattery points out, you're a bit both ways in your post, the only really common thread is the mildly alarming heated antagonism to rival sports you tend to put on display everywhere. Also, pretty sure Australia is not the only nation to play League.
Dale
Guest
I assume you mean the three awful mistakes against Sweden?
Dale
Guest
I was really disappointed how poorly we defended for the whole tournament. I was shocked Brush and Munoz were left out, considering how much experience they both have - Ellie's the highest scoring back in the W-League and Caitlin is a great distributor and an attacking weapon of her own. In saying that, Foord was a find, as was Van Egmond, and these girls have probably four WWCs left in the tank!
Jupiter53
Guest
I should add that although I'm biased as a Sydney fan, but I thought Kylie Ledbrook was worth a place in the squad in midfield.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Ben----I think when Ellyse Perry thinks hard about it---this is what it could be like in Australia for the next Women's Football world Cup.. http://www.businessinsider.com/americans-react-to-abby-wambach-goal-2011-7 Some real emotion here for Women's Football.
Danielle Warby
Roar Rookie
Spot on!
Bondy
Guest
G day Andre, Nice to hear from you again mate .
Aware
Guest
Yes. Ellyse Perry could be a sensation in womens' football, which will obviously have a higher profile than womens' cricket. She would more likely play up in midfield or forward. I also think they made an error in not starting with Polkinghorne and Shippard in defence against Sweden. The defence was not aggresive enough and lacked height.
Jupiter53
Guest
I agree with the consensus that Tommy has a good squad to work with in the future. With a steadier performance in defence and some better options taken in attack the Matildas had the capacity to go farther. I don't think that either Uzunlar or Carroll should be ditched. They are still inexperienced but have great qualities and should be given the chance to improve. Uzunlar in particular is very skilful and I was particularly impressed by the couple of runs she made out of defence in the second half against Sweden. At the highest level defences are hard to break down and runs like that can upset their organisation. On the flanks also I think Kellond-Knight, Foord and Perry were better going forward than defensively. Again I think there is no substitute for experience. Perhaps if Slatyer had been available to organise things would have different. I thought the only one of the more seasoned players who came up to her usual standard was deVanna. A few times she shot when she should have passed; generally though she was magnificent. If you want to know what defenders thought of her then look at how often she was fouled. McCallum suffered by comparison with the extraordinary level she usually manages. Garriock was frustratingly just off the pace much of the time. Polkinghorne never seemed to get to grips with her game. I think that the younger midfielders [Van Egmond, Butt] needed more support from the veterans. I would have given Khamis more game time. You can rely on her positioning and commitment. There is never a near post ball that she is not running for. Kerr and Simon have different qualities - more individualistic, more likely to hit a long range bomb. What we were missing in attack was exemplified by the first 2 Swedish goals against us. The first with Schelin having several players to pass to including the midfielder for a decisive cut back - in contrast our midfield was often not up with the attack. The second with a really good quality cross - many of ours were wastefully overhit or directed to the keeper. I saw every minute of all the Matildas' games and despite the criticism above I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. Olympic qualification will be very tough. The Matildas play China, Japan, N Korea, S Korea and Thailand in a round robin in September in China with only the top 2 going to London. Good luck to Tommy and the team; let's hope that Slatyer and Walsh are available [it will be too soon for Gill].
punter
Guest
What play in another cricket world cup in front of 228 or another football world cup in front of 50K? Difficult choice.
Andre Krueger
Guest
Totally agree for your second point. Sometimes they made some easy mistakes, on the other side, they ran over 90, or 120 minutes. They look fitter than some men teams. The US-Brazil game was a thriller. That sport is good to watch, and the top teams are very close ..... I love it .....Andre Germany
Bondy
Guest
Nice read Hittingthevalve . I tend to agree that Perry could be moved into the right midfield position perhaps , i noticed that was her first start at the tournament which is unusual for a quaterfinals birth, i wonder what Tom was thinking . They all did very well and if we could just grow the sport here a little more than i think we could go all the way in womens football , the girls made me feel proud .