Let’s be honest, there were some decent signs in Australia’s narrow defeat to reigning Olympic champions Canada in Brisbane on Saturday afternoon.
Katrina Gorry impressed in the number six role, Lydia Williams stood tall when she needed to and Sam Kerr created enough chances to win the game on her own.
On any other day, the Matildas might have walked away from the 25,000-strong crowd at Suncorp Stadium with a comfortable victory in hand.
Yet the creeping sense of desperation many of us have felt watching recent Matildas performances was probably best summed up by Gustavsson’s reaction when substitute Cortnee Vine skipped inside the penalty area following a neat inside pass from Kerr.
The Sydney FC speedster still had plenty to do when she skipped past Sura Yekka and shaped up against Shelina Zadorsky in the Canadian defence, but having done well to burst into the box, Vine could only side-foot the resultant effort wide of Kailen Sheridan’s far post.
And didn’t Tony Gustavsson know it?
The Swede continues to be a font of weirdo management speak and borderline psycho babble, but the stress of watching his side spurn another gilt-edge opportunity was etched across his face as he careened down the touchline following Vine’s miscued effort.
So how much trouble is the former long-time assistant coach of women’s powerhouse the United States seriously in?
Based on Saturday’s performance, you’d have to believe Football Australia will be content to wait and see what happens in Tuesday night’s follow-up fixture at the new Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
Yet for a nation that qualified for three World Cup quarter-finals in a row before exiting in the Round of 16 on penalties at the most recent edition in France, it’s increasingly hard to imagine a similar scenario happening on home soil in less than a year.
Maybe playing in front of huge attendances will help? The new Allianz Stadium has already hosted a couple of sell-out crowds over the weekend, and while it’s unlikely to be full for a midweek encounter on Tuesday night, it undoubtedly will be for the World Cup.
Or maybe Gustavsson’s motivational mantras will finally start to click? You can’t spend more than 20 years coaching at the top level without knowing a thing or two.
And we shouldn’t discount how much playing a World Cup on home soil will mean to the players themselves.
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
France won all three of their group games in 2019, downed Brazil after extra-time in the Round of 16 and only went out following a 2-1 defeat to eventual champions the USA in the quarter-finals.
With the Matildas’ group stage games taking place in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, we shouldn’t discount how much of a home-field advantage the Aussies will enjoy at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Which is slightly alarming, if we’re being honest, because right now that feels like pretty much all that we’ve got.
Since a shock Asian Cup quarter-final exit to underdogs South Korea, Gustavsson has overseen a couple of narrow wins over New Zealand, a 7-0 defeat to Spain, an unconvincing 1-1 draw with Portugal and Saturday’s latest loss to Canada.
And he’s essentially made it impossible for any scribe to ignore Australia’s performances – no matter how casual their acquaintance with the team.
Better judges than me will no doubt point out there are now just 320 days until the World Cup kicks off on July 20 next year.
And even if Football Australia decided to punt Gustavsson, who would they replace him with?
The Swede will want to be in the dugout when the Matildas take on his native Sweden in an AAMI Park blockbuster in September anyway.
But on the back of their latest defeat, it seems pertinent to ask: how on earth are the Matildas going to win next year’s World Cup?
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