Boring. Cynical. Passionless. Un-Australian.
Last night those were just some of the words that were on social media to describe the Matildas’ performance against the world number one and defending world champions, the United States.
One word was neglected: smart.
That was a tactically smart and tournament savvy performance from the Matildas and the coaching staff. In a match where a draw would see both sides go through, the Australian team looked to attack the Americans in the opening half before playing much more reserved football in the second stanza.
While it was not what many considered “the Matildas way” or the “Australian way”, if history of tournaments have shown us anything, it is a winning way.
Tournaments like the Olympics, where the teams play matches every two days, are not just about who can play better during one match – they are also about which team can map out the tournament to peak at exactly the right time. This need for smart and savvy tournament management becomes even more critical when it is played during a hot and humid Japanese summer.
Sam Kerr on the ball for the Matildas. (Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images)
If there is a coach that knows about tournament management, it is Tony Gustavsson. He has been a part of three winning tournament campaigns with the side the Matildas played last night. London 2012 gold, and back to back Women’s World Cup victories (2015 and 2019).
One of things that Gustavsson said he wanted to bring to the team was game management and that is what happened last night.
In the second half, the Matildas could have gone all guns blazing at the USWNT and played the “Australian way” but at what cost? In playing high, they would have left themselves wide open to transition goals against a team that has the firepower of Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Christen Press with the latter, Press, involved in 40 goals in the last 39 games for the USA .
Lack of tournament and match management has haunted the Matildas in the past couple of years and for all the re-writing of history with Alen Stajcic, the last couple of years have been up and down.
While the former coach rightfully deserved praise for creating an exciting brand of football with the team in 2015 – 2017, the reality is by 2018, the rest of the world had caught up that football style and were already starting to figure out the Matildas.
The evolution of the team was to play Plan A but faster.
Looking at the results in the final year of Stajcic’s reign demonstrates this in stark numbers:
– A 0-0 draw with Portugal (ranked 38th) while Australia was ranked fourth at the 2018 Algarve Cup
– A 2-1 loss to Portugal in the same tournament in the placings match
– A 0-0 draw with a 14th ranked South Korea in the Asian Cup where the team struggled to create
– Very late 1-1 draw with Japan with an 86th min Sam Kerr goal saving the team from a fifth place playoff
– A penalty shoot out win against the 30th ranked Thailand with again a late 90th min Alanna Kennedy saving the team
The run of results cost the team dearly in terms of points as they fell to sixth in the rankings.
What followed was a rally in the Tournament of Nations where they drew with the United States and beat Brazil and Japan.
However, all three teams in that tournament in hindsight were already preparing for the future while Australia was keeping (starting to burn out) the same squad.
When some of the top players were unavailable for the next tour due to injury, what followed was another runs of inconsistent results and performances.
– A 2-0 loss to France where the team was outplayed
– A 1-1 draw with England where again a late 84th min Clare Polkinghorne goal saved the day
– Then a 3 – 2 loss to the 39th ranked Chile at home
No-one knows conclusively what happened with the departure of Stajcic, but one thing is certain is that the way it happened has clouded the narrative around the performances of the team while he was a coach.
The highs (defeating and drawing with the United States and dismantling Brazil) are remembered but that final year of poor performances and results have been neatly shoved aside.
(Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Then came Ante Milicic to steady the ship for the FIFA Women’s WOrld Cup in France. What was evident in that tournament was that women’s football had evolved significantly and Australia had not matured with it from 2017 to 2019.
Time in Europe plus the appointment of Gustavsson has shown that with the right time, the team can become a more mature and savvy team.
A genuine question is do you prefer a plucky, “go get ’em” style that ends in a loss or a pragmatic approach that ultimately ends in a tournament victory?
Australia has tried the first and it has ended often in disappointment at the 2011 World Cup, 2014 Asian Cup, 2015 World Cup, 2016 Rio Olympics, 2018 Asian Cup and the 2019 World Cup. Maybe it’s time to mature and try a combination of the two.
That’s what I saw last night; an Australian team growing up.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
We were always going to be the third best team to progress. So in your view, the best shot at winning a medal is to face Sweden in the semi, not Canada in the semi. If we had gone out to win against the USA we would have finished second in the group; then be facing Canada in our semi. But now we face Sweden in the semi who are a vast superior team than the USA, Sweden are unbeaten so far who demolished the USA.
PeterCtheThird
Guest
I would have thought that if you actually support Australian football you would want the coach and team to give themselves the best possibly shot at a medal - which starts with ensuring they progress from the group stage. That is what they did. “Damn the torpedoes! Full steam ahead!” Might be brave or stupid o4 both. Eithe4 way it just gets you ship-wrecked.
Rodger King
Roar Rookie
I wonder what the comments will be now we have seen off a VERY good GB team, the best players from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 4 Countries, I think we scored a goal for each of them. And coming from behind as well, not too often the girls have done that at this level. The belief is high. I'm sure there will be many who will down play it.
Rodger King
Roar Rookie
Not sure why you think it failed? The tactic worked, the girls got through to the quarter-finals. It was smart but not pretty. For the life of me I can not understand why so many think that the 'gung-ho' attacking style is the Australian way. If we had the trophy cabinet of the USA and it was based purely on that style, then ok be critical, but guys, take a step back and look at our trophy cabinet, it is all but bare. If we have to play boring old football to win an Olympic gold medal or the World Cup, then I'm happy to be bored for 90 minutes.
Rodger King
Roar Rookie
Actually there have been quite a few. None as analytical as this one, I must admit and none that have had as much thought about it. It is important to look at the whole picture over a length of time to see where the Olyroos are at and are going. But because the squad constantly changes at U23 level and performances fluctuate as personnel change. It is so much harder to draw a straight line from point A to point B.
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Amazing that there is an article about womans football/soccer, but none about the mens poor performance.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Rubbish! Give me Ange Postecoglou's football philosophy. Don't play like cowards; go out to win all games. What is the point playing out a game just to move up one notch in a cowardly way. To only be eventually knock out by the better team in the next game. Go out and believe you can beat any team on any given day and prove to us Aussies you can do it. What we saw against the USA was anti-football (both teams) and Gustavsson should be terminated after this tournament ends. Australian football's pride took a hit that night.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Also, as Midfielder wrote previously, there's never a criticism of swimmers who do enough in their heats to get through to the medal race. In the end that's what The Matildas did.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Great article - so true. However, if it hadn't worked, what would we be saying about Gustavsson now? The Matildas do appear to be growing into a better football team under Gustavsson, who appears to have plans, A, B and C ready with the team ready to implement them. He looks to be a good choice for our team and hopefully they can get a medal at these games.
Goalsonly
Roar Rookie
It was fascinating to watch the side to side passing and lack of any engagement with the opposition. USA were doing the same thing. Bit like Aussie Rules when both teams are trying to put the ball out of bounds without appearing to do it deliberately so to force a stoppage. As you say clever sport. It looks great when it works but the men's Socceroos it backfired big time. Both against Spain and Egypt. I get clever soccer but it's a fifty fifty theory. If you can get the team playing as one any style will do. It's more about interpersonal and individual communication between members of the squad and the way they play for each other highlighting individual skills. Sacrificing fun, entertainment and the games inherent skills to dumb down to the gold fever may be lucrative and enticing but it can be batsh@#$ boring and backfire anyway. It's the ability to unite the individuals to form one entity that is the active ingredient in the mix. It's basically cult of personality and built on the chemistry of success. The winning feeling of belonging to a family and all the joy of life that goes with it. Tactics and theory are interchangeable but espirit de Cor makes them winners or losers. What you saw may have something to do with a maturing of the squad in terms of tactics but lets not taint all the success of the Matilda's in the same stroke of a pen.
Rodger King
Roar Rookie
What a thoughtful and accurate assessment of the current situation. It is refreshing to get such a positive yet critical take on where we are. Too many 'keyboard warriors' or armchair coaches, want the gung ho attacking style of football, scoring at every opportunity when we enter the 18 yard box. Tournament football isn't played like that, not should it be. The plan would of been, I suspect, was to get out of the group as high as possible, then see who we face. The plan now will be to over come GB. If we succeed then we look at who we face next. Too many of us get blind sided by the good one off results here and there, while they are important, what is more important is that they aren't followed up tournament success. We may think we are good enough to win the World Cup in 2023, but we have to prove it first. Let us see what happens next. The game against GB will be a good test, I rate this GB team very highly. A great first article, I look forward to reading more from you.
Justin Mahon
Guest
Nail, meet Head.
JimmyJax
Guest
Savy football by the Matildas v USA in the final pool game successfully negotiating their way to the knock out stage. Now it's sudden death football v GB , hopefully the girls perfect the balance between expansive / defensive football and don't leave themselves exposed at the back. Should be fun to watch!
Newie
Guest
Plus 1. It was clearly tournament management and an excellent result. Graham Arnold tried the same thing with the Olyroos against Egypt and failed, but then, the equation was different.