Matildas boss' desperate plea amid rotten run

2 years ago 158

Australia is little than a twelvemonth distant from hosting the FIFA World Cup - but the level that was laid implicit the past 15 years to extremity that tourney with a trophy looks further distant than ever before.

There's nary denying the endowment the Matildas have, with players dotted each implicit Europe - but repeated losses and patchy performances person plagued them since Tony Gustavsson took the reins successful 2022.

They had arguably their champion fractional of shot nether him to date, but aft the half-time interruption it was one-way postulation to the visitors.

AS IT HAPPENED: Matildas play archetypal shot lucifer astatine caller SFS

"If you look astatine the [first] 45 minutes today, I anticipation that we saw immoderate betterment successful presumption of the information that we tin predominate a apical team, not conscionable vie with them, I anticipation that tin beryllium looked upon arsenic an improvement," Gustavsson said.

But asking for much bully volition aft conscionable 1 fantabulous fractional of shot is simply a gangly bid - the numbers don't lie, and the Matildas person present mislaid 13 of their 26 matches successful the Swedish coach's tenure.

Eighteen of those games person travel against teams ranked successful the apical 20 successful the world, with conscionable 1 solitary triumph claimed.

The thought to docket truthful galore matches against the apical teams is large successful presumption of preparing the squad for immoderate pugnacious tests astatine the World Cup - but the flipside is if you can't triumph immoderate of them, fans commencement to suffer religion successful a squad they erstwhile felt could bushed anyone connected their day.

"We each privation to beryllium winners," helium said.

"If we tin person that religion and that anticipation successful this squad that travel the World Cup (we) volition beryllium winners - what I've learned is that this squad is acceptable to bash immoderate it takes to beryllium prepared, and they're moving highly hard to scope that.

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"And there's a content successful that process from some the players and besides internally successful the federation, but erstwhile you are losing excessively galore games it tin wounded assurance a bit."

Gustavsson has repeatedly urged media and fans alike to support the religion - but there's lone truthful overmuch stagnation radical tin accept.

"Externally, erstwhile you spot america losing, possibly determination starts to beryllium a deficiency of religion oregon deficiency of anticipation oregon deficiency of belief. I've said it earlier and I'll accidental it again, I deliberation there's a quality betwixt expectations and belief, and I accidental that from different experiences from coaching some men's teams and women's teams.

"I said that successful the aboriginal this squad could go 1 of the champion teams successful the world. We're not determination now, we request to beryllium real, we're not the champion squad successful the satellite close now. But we know, erstwhile we play our best, we tin bushed the champion squad successful the satellite successful a one-off."

Forward Caitlin Foord agreed with the 'game of 2 halves' assessment.

"How it looked was however it felt for america arsenic well," she said.

"We felt similar we were dominating - we felt similar america again, we felt similar we were playing good and a spot unlucky not to people a mates more.

"We don't person that overmuch clip together, starring into the World Cup."

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