Unable to produce consistent results on the park or confidence in the stands, Tony Gustavsson has allowed his tenure as Matildas boss to be boiled down to bare numbers: eight wins from twenty-four games in charge, seventeen debutants trialled in that time, all against the backdrop of the nagging countdown clock to next year’s World Cup that today reads 320 days.
Gustavsson has drawn his own ‘line in the sand’ ahead of this week’s two friendlies against Canada, kicking off today in Brisbane before meeting again in Sydney on Tuesday. The big names have returned and for the sake of their coach and head office, need to rediscover the swagger that’s been awol since January’s Asian Cup disaster.
‘It is crunch time for Tony, Football Australia and the Matildas, because it is less than twelve months now until the World Cup. The team, the fans, they want progression, and to feel confident heading into a home tournament, so I think we can all agree the time for [mass] experimentation is over’, 20-cap Matilda Amy Chapman told Box2Box.
‘Talent in the top team is not a problem, but I don’t think [Gustavsson’s] got the mix right yet. We’ve seen glimpses of it… but Football Australia are backing him so we now need to see why they’re doing so, and see our stars firing if we want to really get a good result.’
Of particular interest will be Gustavsson’s handling of his defence, where the side have yet to rediscover their confidence almost twelve months on from his decision to pair Jessika Nash and Courtney Nevin at centre-back against the USA.
Veterans Clare Polkinghorn, Alannah Kennedy and Steph Catley have long since returned but the unit as a whole remains somewhat spooked, and for the time being is without the versatile Ellie Carpenter.
‘The defence has been the Matilda’s shakiest point, along with that holding midfield position. We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to Number 10s and strikers, but there needs to be consistency in the back three or four, and not having the utility of Carpenter means there’s going to be some shuffling around.
‘They’re looking at some of those strikers, the likes of Larissa Crummer, who previously went to a World Cup as a right back option despite only ever really playing as striker. They might have to get creative with what they’ve got to try and cement a back three of four that’s going to work into that style.’
Their absence coupled with the retirement of goalkeeper Steph Labbe in April will allow manager Bev Preistman to flip the magnets; her comments around having plenty of time to experiment this far out from the World Cup may have brought a black-humoured laugh to Matildas fans fretting about the clock.
‘The challenges the Matildas have always faced are usually against European teams; traditionally they’ve never performed well against that style of football. Canada is a different kettle of fish, and if anything are very similar in style to how the Matildas play.
‘We’ve always fancied ourselves head to head against them… but they’re now ranked 7th in the world while the Aussies have slipped down to 12th. They are a good point of measure for the Matildas and Australian football so this will be a good test.’