By: Mike Crooks
The Matildas have missed out on a third-place finish in the SheBelieves Cup in the US.
Following a poor start to the campaign, with an uncharacteristic heavy 4-0 loss to Japan, the national women’s soccer team fought hard in their next game against the host nation.
In the end, they lost 2-1 to the US – the world number one side.
“Obviously a much better performance, much better effort from the players,” Matildas interim coach Tom Sermanni said in the post-game press conference.
“And more so, after the terrible start that we had… so I think they showed a lot of character getting back into the game, and sticking and staying in the game.
“From that perspective it was a successful night.”
Vying for Third
Matildas played Colombia, in a play-off for the third place in the four-team competition.
(The SheBelieves cup is a US initiative to encourage young women to achieve their dreams – sport-related or not.)
“Colombia [has] a couple of outstanding players in the lineup,” coach Sermanni said before the game.
“We need to look after them. Being South American, they’ve got a certain rhythm and a certain way of playing that’s a little bit different to the Japanese and a little bit different to the Americans.”
History-making
The Matildas made history in 2023 during their FIFA World Cup campaign.
The World Cup, which was hosted by Australia and New Zealand, saw Australia reach the semi-finals – the first Australian soccer team to get that far in any FIFA World Cup.
Their semi against England was seen by 11.15 million Australians – the biggest TV audience in Australian history.
At the time, captain Sam Kerr said that she hoped it was “the start of something new” in relation to women’s sport.
And in the wake of the Matilda’s historic run, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged $200 million to improve women’s sporting facilities and equipment.
Missing Kerr
Since then, the Matildas have had their share of struggles.
In the Paris Olympics last year, they faced world soccer powerhouses the US and Germany in their group and did not progress to the knockout round.
They were also missing captain Kerr, who was out with injury.
Their early departure led to their coach, Swede Tony Gustavsson, stepping down from a position he had held since 2020.
For the SheBelieves Cup, they have also been missing Kerr, who is still recovering from knee surgery.
Looking ahead
The next big comp in the Matilda’s sights is the the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in March next year.
“The key thing is how well the team is going to be able to prepare for that,” said coach Sermanni.
“And hopefully we go into that tournament with a fully fit and healthy squad.”
That should include Sam Kerr. The star Chelsea forward is expected to return to the field soon.
“We hope her rehab journey with her knee is going well and we all can’t wait to see her back on the pitch,” her Matildas’ team mate Ellie Carpenter told the ABC.
Added Mr Sermanni: “You hope that your senior key players are going to turn up and perform really well.
“As a nation, we need to start to look and plan ahead to what we’re actually going to do, not just next year, but many years after that.
“We need to start to look at how we resource and how we work through the system coming in behind the national team.”
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
Feature image: Canva