Australia women’s head coach Tony Gustavsson hopes more transparency and an improvement in results will get the national team’s fans back onboard and excited about their team.
The Matildas are winless overseas since the Asian Cup in January, only beating New Zealand in the time since in what’s proved to be a frustrating year.
The squad have been in camp in the UK for nearly a week now, ahead of two friendlies on the continent against South Africa and then Denmark.
Speaking to journalists ahead of tomorrow’s clash with the Banyana Banyana, Gustavsson wants to restore belief in his team ahead of a crucial few months for the sport in Australia.
“The result matters in terms of getting momentum internally for the players’ confidence, but more so from the outside,” said Gustavsson. “We’re hosting a World Cup on home soil, and you want to have the fans, media and stakeholders onside and believing in what we’re building with this team.
“Internally, both with the players and the federation, they know what we’ve done and why the results have been what they’ve been – like the need for the amount of debutants – so I don’t think the results are needed so much internally. It would be good for their confidence, but more for the outside.
“I will try to be better at explaining the processes and why we’ve done what we’ve done. I think I can be better at that and being a bit more transparent so that I can educate and inform people on those processes that explain where we are.
“It doesn’t mean everyone has to like what we’re doing but they can understand why we’re doing things like heavily rotating and giving so many debuts.”
Gustavsson has also had to contend with a signifcant number of injuries, with Kyah Simon the most recent player to have to drop out of the camp, after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury whilst playing for WSL side Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
“This situation is pretty unique and I don’t think I’ve experienced anything in terms of having this many players unavailable.
“Some of them are long-term and we don’t know when they’ll be coming back, for example Alana [Kennedy] has ruptured a shoulder, and now with Kyah [Simon] and the devastating news that after coming back from injury she’s out once again and then with Ellie [Carpenter] coming back from an ACL and Tameka [Yallop] who has a foot injury that’s going to put her out for some time now.
“There’s some players that it’s uncertain when they’ll be back and what kind of form they will be in come the World Cup, but that’s a little too far away for me to speculate about.”
Gustavsson’s attention turns instead to those looking to step up and grasp a rare opportunity to showcase their ability, including the likes of Remy Siemsen, Emma Checker, and uncapped Matilda McNamara.
“Now I’m going to focus on being excited for tomorrow and seeing some of the youngsters who have very few caps get on the pitch.
“Some of them are really starting to show me that they can compete for a starting spot.”
The European-based camp has delighted Gustavsson as its given him the chance to iron out some creases and get a stronger idea of his best team, with particular focus on a balanced midfield and a frontrunner for the goalkeeper’s jersey.
“After the summer international window, I said that we’ve spent the last 18 months giving every player an opportunity and playing time, including the goalkeepers, and now from the September window we’re beginning to narrow it down and make it a little more clear.
“We’re trying to find that best midfield combination and it may not necessarily be the best players, but the best combination and how they play together.
“What we want from the number six role is someone that plays a little bit closer to the other plays to provide that link, but also to give us some balance when we lose the ball.
“But it’s not just the six who needs to help protect the backline though, we want more of the team to track back and help out.”
“We’ll see less rotation from the goalkeepers, but the jersey is still up for grabs.
“Come the World Cup, I think we’ll have a clear number one, but as of now it’s still up for grabs. It has to do with what they do at club level, but also how they are when they come into these camps too.”
He also expects tough opposition from confederation champions South Africa, a team built on strong athletic ability and individual technique.
“I’m impressed when I see them, and they can hurt any team in transition because they use that skill to make the game a lot about one-versus-ones and being tough in duels.
“They make things difficult trying to play in behind because their back line has a lot of pace.
“They have conceded some goals from crosses and set plays as we’ve seen previously, and that’s what we’ve spent a lot of time on today – set plays in particular we think will have a real impact on the game.
“The number one thing for us is to control the game so that it’s played how we want it to be, and not have it stretched with a lot of running and one-versus-one matchups so we aim to be compact both with and without the ball.”
Kick-off at Kingsmeadow Stadium is 10:30pm AEDT in a day’s time.
Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
