The Matildas have been defeated thanks to a clinical performance by Canada, as they lost control in the second stanza after a dominating first half.
Australia opened the scoring with a clinical counter-attack inside three minutes.
A long ball from Canada goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan found the way of Mary Fowler, who played a fantastic first-touch pass into Kerr.
Kerr and Vine exchanged a clever one-two before the latter played an intelligent cutback into the feet of Fowler.
The slick move was finished with aplomb, as Fowler converted with a first-time left-footed strike into the bottom right-hand corner.
Three minutes into the second half, Canada equalised, as Leon found the net for her first of the night.
Leon picked up the ball in a pocket centrally before finding Christine Sinclair in a wider position on the left.
Sinclair’s first effort at a cross was blocked, but on the second time of asking, she played a good low cross in to find the unmarked Leon at the front post.
Canada took the lead in the 64th minute with Leon earning herself a brace after a fantastic run by Jade Rose.
The central defender picked up the ball and strode through the first line of Matildas pressure, before continuing her run into midfield and beyond.
She then played a wonderful pass in behind Australia’s backline through to the onrushing Leon, who finished clinically around the stranded Lydia Williams.
The Matildas’ positive build-up structure
Tony Gustavsson and his coaching staff opted for a 4-2-3-1 on paper for the Matildas tonight, which had many interesting variations.
The Matildas operated, in build-up, with a double pivot of Emily Van Egmond and Katrina Gorry ahead of the back four.
Mary Fowler looked to find pockets of space ahead, while the wingers remained wide in the build-up play.
As they established possession of the ball, this would often change, with one fullback moving into the attack line wide.
This allowed the winger on the side of the ball to come inside to fill the space between the fullback and striker in the halfspace, with Mary Fowler – the attacking midfielder – filling that same inside position on the opposite flank.
The 2-3 allows for space and time for one of the three in midfield to be created through quick ball movement, which can lead to Van Egmond or Gorry being able to progress the ball into midfield or wide.
In the wide areas, opportunities formed for triangles between the wider midfielder, winger and inside forward, but perhaps more crucially, beyond chance creation, the system worked well to provide solid defensive stability for transitions.
If the Matildas were, for example, playing a 4-3-3 with two advanced eights and fullbacks high and wide, that would leave a defensive structure of just a single midfielder and two centrebacks to prevent counter-attacks from Canada.
However, the three in front of the defensive line provide good support while also being able to counter-press when necessary.
The clear width and depth both in build-up and the final third as well as the solid structure on defensive transitions makes the 2-3-5 a popular system for possession-based teams while they have the ball.
In the first half, Canada created limited opportunities with the ball as the Matildas dominated in territory, chance creation and possession – their opponents didn’t have a single shot on goal in the first half.
Ball retention and concession of counter-attacking opportunities have both been problems for Matildas in the past, so the 2-3-5 was promising in the domination Australia showed.
It appears to be well-drilled into the Matilda’s side, with players like Emily Van Egmond and Tameka Yallop sprinting back to resume their positions to form the 3 structure in midfield, and perhaps provides a hint to the style of play and system Gustavsson will look to deploy in the World Cup.
Gorry key to the Matildas’ success
The Matildas lost control in the second half of the match, which was largely a product of Katrina Gorry’s lack of involvement in the match.
In the first half, Gorry fitted perfectly into the Matildas’ 2-3-5 structure.
She was tenacious off the ball and gracious on it, impressing with her forwards passing and press resistance.
However, most crucially, she was a metronomic presence in the Matildas’ midfield, serving as the technical and mental leader to give them a sense of control and purpose in possession.
She slowed down play when necessary to calm her side down, showing that they could keep control of the ball through her quality.
Gorry manipulated her movement to draw Canada pressers in before playing through them, and crucially looked to create space by making runs after giving the ball.
She also provided a good partner to Emily Van Egmond, who is a fantastic player in technically quality but sometimes rushes the final pass.
However, in the second half, the Matildas lost that sense of calmness to their side.
While not just a result of a lack of possession for Gorry, it can be argued that as her influence waned, Australia’s worry increased.
Her press resistance and ball retention could have been the turning point (or lack of) for the Matildas if she’d been able to get on the ball in the same way early on in the second stanza as she did in the first and she could prove a key part of the Matildas’ World Cup starting eleven with her intelligence and technical leadership.
Decision-making in the final third a worry
A lack of decisive action harmed the Matildas tonight, despite their positive chance creation and attacking play.
On too many occasions, they struggled to link in the final third and find each others runs.
While chance creation was a positive, the majority came through wide areas through individualism or strong combinations with little coming centrally.
This isn’t necessarily a negative, but it helps to be able to have variety in progressing the ball, and Kerr and Fowler in particular struggled to link when the ball was central.
There were multiple moments where players misunderstood each other’s actions and misplaced passes as a result, with the final product lacklustre on the night.
When coming up against clinical, quality sides like Canada in the World Cup (Canada scored with their first shot of the match), the Matildas could dominate but look back on their knockout in the home World Cup as a lack of execution of chances as what prevents from moving to that next stage.
In tournament football, taking chances is as crucial as ever – a process is important, but in the World Cup, it disappears instantly with just one loss.
Nothing’s more excruciating than being defeated in a game that you ‘deserve’ to win, particularly in the knockout stages of a home World Cup with purposeful significance, so the Matildas will have to develop an increased sense of assertive decision-making by 2023.
Feature Image: Keegan Dennis/Kick360
