When it comes to sport there are few things worse than looking back and realising that individually or as a team you never fulfilled your potential.
When one looks back on this current period of time many followers of the Australian Women’s football team and many of the players may well look back on the four year World Cup Cycle between 2019 and 2023 as a period where the best in the country failed to live up to their potential. Some may be a little more reserved and say that they they failed to live up to the hype. Of course all of that will change if, as hosts, the Matildas have a fantastic World Cup in 2023.
Looking back to a time when there was no W-League in 1999 the Matildas were training with second-hand equipment from the Socceroos. They had very few games and were not paid. So dire was the situation that to try and promote the team and raise funds for the team, the Matildas posed nude for a calendar; which today is highly collectable. They have come a long way since then.
Despite these hardships that team qualified for the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup in USA. At the tournament, Australia was in a group with Sweden, China and Ghana. In their opening match, the team picked up their first point at a World Cup when they drew 1–1 against the Ghana. Unfortunately the next two games were both 3–1 losses, and they finished third in the group; but this was their best finish to date.
Hopes were high when the team took to the field as hosts at the Sydney Olympic Games, but despite huge support for the team results did not go their way and again they were out in the pool stage.
The year 2002 saw a number of senior players hang up their boots and in 2003 the team probably reached its lowest point when it played no international games.
After qualifying for the Athens Olympics the team won its first Olympic game beating hosts Greece 1-0. A 1-1 draw with the USA saw the team progress to the quarter finals for the first time, where their run came to an end against Sweden.
In 2006 Australia moved from the Oceania Confederation to Asia, and was awarded the hosting rights for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. The team, coached by Tom Sermanni since 2004 won all their games apart from a draw against North Korea and progressed to the final where they drew 2-2 with China, only to lose on penalties. By making the semi finals the team had also qualified for the next World Cup.
The team’s rise continued when in 2007 at the World Cup they were unbeaten in their pool with a win and two draws, unfortunately they then met Brazil in the quarter finals where they came back from 2-0 down to level 2-2 before finally going down 3-2.
Some would say that this period was the rebirth of the Matildas, even though they missed out on qualifying for the Beijing Olympics. This disappointment seemed to garner the squad onto greater things, it also pulled them together.
Proof of this came in 2010 when despite a loss in the pool stage to China at the Asian Cup, the team progressed to another final. This time they won on penalties after a 1-1 draw against DPR Korea. This victory made the Matildas the first ever Australian football team to win a major competition in Asia; the men’s team would not achieve the feat until 2015.
At the 2011 World Cup in Germany the team again progressed to the quarter finals this time bowing out to Sweden. This performance coming after the the Asian Cup victory showed the potential that this group of players had. Caitlin Foord picked up the Best Young Player of the tournament award, and defender Elise Kellond-Knight was chosen for the All-Star Team.
Others had seen the potential too and suddenly the Australian players were being offered contracts to play overseas, while their coach Tom Sermanni was given the coaching job with the USA in 2013. Despite a press release claiming his replacement Dutchwoman Hesterine de Reus was the perfect replacement, this proved not to be the case, and in 2014 she was sacked after player unrest. (No Waltzing With The Matildas)
Alen Stajcic who had experience coaching in the W-League was appointed on an interim basis and took the team to the 2014 Asian Cup. With the coaching turmoil leading into the tournament few expected the team to make the final. The Matildas achieved this only to lose to Japan. This showed the talent that existed within the squad. As a result late in 2014 Stajcic was given the coaching job on a permanent basis.
It is fair to say that investment in the team was greater than during Sermanni’s time, but whether it was still enough for the team to achieve what their potential promised they could achieve, is a question that will be asked for many years to come.
The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup saw the team once again progress to the quarter finals after beating Brazil in the round of 16. This was a painful defeat as the team had matched Japan throughout the match only to concede in the 87th minute. Once again it showed that this group were not far away from the top sides in the World. The only games they lost in the tournament were against the two finalists, winners the USA and runners up Japan.
The team breezed through the next Olympic qualifiers, but once in Rio struggled through the group stage. They qualified as one of the best third placed teams. Then they met the hosts Brazil. It was a game that many believed they could have, and should have won. It finished 0-0 and the team bowed out in a penalty shoot-out. However the nation was transfixed by the team. They were now the darlings of women’s sport in Australia.
Despite Ange Postecoglou ensuring another World Cup qualification for 2018 the Socceroos were clearly on the wane; some would say evidence of a flawed development program. The Matildas became the team team on which the FFA focussed, and with Sam Kerr replacing Tim Cahill as a player known around the world, she became their marketing tool.
A first ever victory over the USA in 2017 showed just how good this team was. In a home series against Brazil crowds flocked to watch the team, play, with the first game a sell out. Many football fans were well aware that the Socceroos are unlikely to ever lift the World Cup, but there was a genuine belief that the Matildas could, and that belief was being matched by not only their confident performances but also their results.
In 2016 they had played 12 games won six, drew four and lost two. In 2017 they played 11 won nine, drew one and lost one. The team had also reached its highest ever FIFA World Ranking of fourth. That belief in the possibility of at least making a World Cup Final looked a reality.
Their first test in 2018 was the Asian Cup. In a tough group they finished top of their pool undefeated and having drawn with Japan and South Korea. All three teams finished level on points, and they progressed on goal difference. They would once again go all the way to the final, where once again they would lose to a late goal from Japan coming this time in the 84th minute.
Later in the year at the Tournament of Nations hosted by the USA in which the USA, Brazil and Japan were their opponents, the Matildas went undefeated and lost the title on goal difference to the USA. If ever proof was needed that they could compete with the best this was it.
Then in January 2019 came the shock news that the FFA had sacked Alen Stajcic. Still to this day the truth behind why he was removed from his position has yet to come to light. It appears that three individuals had an axe to grind, and put personal politics before the team and what it could do for Australian football. The women in the team came out on social media to support their coach and many appeared distraught at the news. They had faith in him, and clearly he had faith in them and had managed the bring out the best in them.
Former men’s national team assistant coach Ante Milicic was later appointed coach to lead the team into the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. A man who had never coached in women’s football before. (Have Egos Been Put Before The Team)
Only Milicic will be able to explain why he made the changes he did to what was a winning formula. He tried to change the style of play, and he also changed the captain, giving star player Sam Kerr the armband. Many believe that this was a move that came from pressure from above, the FFA. They wanted to their star player to be the leader even though many questioned her leadership attributes.
Australia lost their opening game of the World Cup to Italy, and were 0-2 down against Brazil and facing an early exit when the team staged an almighty comeback to win 3-2. This was a massive result as these were the first goals conceded by Brazil in the group stage in 16 years, and it was their first group stage loss for 24 years. The captain famously told the team’s critics to “suck on that one” post match. Now people were wondering was the team everyone had grown to love back? Four goals from Sam Kerr against Jamaica – a first hat-trick at a world cup by an Australian player male or female – saw them into the knockout stages. Unfortunately their tournament would end there after a 0-0 draw with Norway, losing 1-4 in a penalty shoot-out. This was hugely disappointing. The team were a shadow of the side they had been and were expected to at least make the semi finals.
Milicic resigned as coach in July 2020. He had in 2019 been announced as the inaugural coach of new A-League franchise Macarthur FC, and the FFA wanted to know if he was to stay on as Matildas coach or take up that role. He chose the A-League. Only he will know why. Maybe he simply wanted to return to the men’s game that he was more familiar with? Despite the disappointment at the World Cup his record and the team’s with him at the helm was still good. He was in charge for 16 games, of which they won 11, drew two and lost three. Unfortunately they lost one key game when it mattered. (Only The Best Will Do)
In September of 2020 and with a fair amount of fanfare the FA – no longer FFA – unveiled Tony Gustavsson as the new Matildas coach. The former assistant coach of the USA was given a contract that would expire at the end of 2024 after the Paris Olympics.
In his first two games in charge the Matildas conceded five goals in both games. This was unheard of. It was the first time they had conceded five goals since 1995. They lost five games on the trot. At the time people questioned whether this team was as good as everyone thought, only a few questioned the coach. Many felt that the team had been distracted by a long drawn out pay dispute the year before and that this had destabilised the team.
The first real test for Gustavsson was the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games, a tournament in which Australia was expected to perform well. Australia defeated New Zealand 2-1 in their opening game but were not that impressive. They were defeated by Sweden and then played a 0-0 draw with the USA. They progressed as one of the best third placed teams in their group. The quarter final match against Great Britain was a great match for the neutral but again saw a vulnerable Australia scrape through 4-3 after extra time. By now there were serious concerns about Gustavsson’s team selections, especially in terms of his preferred goalkeeper.
The team had made the semi finals but this is where their journey would end 0-1 against Sweden; a Sam Kerr goal controversially ruled out which would have given the team the lead. There was still a bronze medal to play for, and this would be a test for the coach to pick his team up for that game and finish the Games with a win. Despite the 4-3 scoreline it is fair to say that the Matildas were totally outplayed in an error-ridden match and look a different team to the one we all knew.
So now the focus was on winning back the Asian Cup. Last week that ended in disaster bowing out to South Korea in the quarter finals. The team’s earliest exit in the tournament.
The goal that the team lost the game to was a special finish, but that did not ease the pain. The performance from the Matildas was far from cohesive and as has been the case for too long now looked to rely too heavily on their captain Sam Kerr to pull the game out of the fire. There was nothing coming off the bench to add a spark, there was no inspirational move from the coach, who has publicly stated that he takes full responsibility. As he should.
The irony of the situation at the Asian Cup was Alen Stajcic who took over the reins as head coach of the Phillipines managed to steer his side to the semi-finals. Can he take them to a final? South Korea stand in his side’s way, but no doubt they will be high on confidence.
Gustavsson is now under genuine pressure. Gustavsson’s record of 20 games six wins, for draws and 10 losses is amongst the worst of any Matildas coach.
He was seen as the perfect man for the job. Australia had hopes of being in the semi finals when it hosts the the FIFA Women’s World Cup next year. On present form this is a dream. It is going to take an almighty turn around to raise confidence and have the team playing a style that is solid at the back and able to create scoring opportunities. If Australia were to bow out in the group stage as hosts would spell total disaster for the FA and also the brand that has become the Matildas.
There is no doubt that Australia has the talent to compete with the best teams in the world, so what has gone wrong? Tom Sermanni and Alen Stajcic have the best winning percentages of all Matildas coaches excepting Ante Milicic. What was the secret to their success? Why has it been so hard to replicate?
The W-League was created in 2008 and was then a fledgling competition. The players that headed to the USA and played returned to Australia to play in the W-League. Now with those players earning a living in Europe the dynamic has changed. Has the program failed to adapt to that change?
Some critics are saying that following the wage negotiations of 2019 the team lost focus, that it got ahead of itself. Maybe, but that seems incredibly harsh. Could it be that finally after fighting for years they are now receiving a reward for their efforts and their standing, and that the pressure has eased and therefore their intensity has dropped?
It could simply be that now many of the players are playing in the top leagues in Europe, the workload has become greater and when they come into the international set-up they are more jaded than in the past.
Or is it the process that the FFA followed to come to the decision that Ante Milicic and latterly Tony Gustavsson were the best men for the job? Were they really the best choices at the time? Let’s be honest the FFA were not looking to appoint Alen Stajcic back in 2014. He stepped into a very unhappy team as a stop-gap after the disastrous appointment of Hesterine de Reus, so do they really know what to look for when making such key appointments?
The saddest fact of all however is that this group has great potential. They had and probably still have the potential to match it with the best in the World. The Olympic games and the recent Asian Cup were two opportunities to write their names in the annals of Australian football as a great team, but those opportunities have been missed. Now they have to perform at the World Cup in 2023! The pressure on the team and the players as individuals is going to be greater than ever.
Remember when Australia started the bid process to host the tournament the team had been riding high. No doubt Government funding was based on the form of the Matildas at that time under Stajcic, and were sold on the belief that the team were genuine contenders to lift the trophy. Interestingly Stajcic was sacked in January 2019, the FIFA Bid process opened a month later in February. In late 2019 Australia and New Zealand agreed to merge their bids. By the end of the year they were up against Japan, Brazil and Colombia. Both Brazil and Japan dropped out, and in June 2020 Australia and New Zealand were granted the hosting rights.
At that time Australia had just qualified for Tokyo 2020, without losing a match. Their world ranking was seventh. Everything was rosey and the belief that they would be contenders was still very much alive. Now they are outside the top ten and many believers are beginning to have doubts.
Did the investment in the Matildas and this bid come too late to showcase the team in Australia? Have we seen the team already reach its peak? How long can a team have potential? All of these questions will be answered in the future and will be judged over time. Whatever the outcome, one hopes that the players when the time comes to hang up their boots do not look back with regret that their potential was never fulfilled, as then they will question why? Which could end up being a very painful process.
