Tony Gustavsson was keen to focus on the numbers but it is hard to explain how Australia were so improved against CanadaThe Matildas coach, Tony Gustavsson, is a maths teacher by training. It shows. Even on the biggest night yet in the history of Australian women’s football, when his team had just demolished the Olympic champions, Canada to progress to the round of 16 at a home World Cup, Gustavsson finds comfort in numbers. Which is how he found himself in the bowels of the stadium after the match, reciting statistics.“Since we played Canada last time, we have won 11 out of 13 games, including five against top-ranked opposition,” Gustavsson said. “We scored 33 goals and conceded eight.” He proceeded...
The Matildas captain is back for the must-win game against Canada, and with the weight of a nation on her shoulders, has issued her own call-to-armsWhat a difference six words make.For the past nine days, the hopes of a nation have hung off Sam Kerr’s left calf. Ever since the 11th-hour announcement that the captain would miss Australia’s Women’s World Cup opener against Ireland, due to a calf injury suffered in training, Australian fans have waited anxiously for news on Kerr’s gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Continue reading...
The 50,629 attendance mark will only last a week as Australia go into World Cup opener on Thursday with perfect preparationAt the home of the Matildas, balloons have been tied to the front gate. The table has been set and streamers ring the backyard. The festivities are just about ready to kick off. And while it might have been France who were celebrating Bastille Day on Friday night, it was Mary Fowler who brought the punch.Less than a week before their Women’s World Cup opener, the Matildas defeated a France team ranked five places above them thanks to Fowler’s goal midway through the second half. In an even contest, Australia made the most of their one clear-cut chance, while France...
There was a lot to admire in Australia’s Cup of Nations win over Spain, not least the timing of it with the World Cup on the horizonThe ball had barely left Cortnee Vine’s right boot and Tony Gustavsson and Mel Andreatta were already losing their minds, celebrating a stunner of a goal that opened the floodgates. To be any manager and assistant on the bench five months out from a World Cup would surely feel fraught. But to be a manager and assistant under pressure, five months out from a World Cup which they are co-hosting, might do something altogether different to the levels of cortisol in one’s body.There were a lot of eyes on CommBank Stadium on Sunday night,...
With the global showpiece on home soil looming the three-team mini tournament is crucial for coach Tony Gustavsson’s planningTony Gustavsson possesses an undeniable stage presence. Enthusiastic – almost earnest – he arrives in Matildas camp from the air via umbrella, toes out-turned, ready to dance in dreamed-up settings with a smile and some catchy quotes. Five months before a World Cup for which Australia is still not convinced his national team is adequately prepared, he is in dress-rehearsal mode. “Everything we do now is like a World Cup rehearsal,” Gustavsson said on Wednesday, the eve of the Cup of Nations tournament – effectively a series of friendlies against Czechia, Spain and Jamaica.Whether the main act turns out to be Mary...