As the road to Paris begins, a Matildas Golden Generation yearns to be sealed in silverware
A spot at the Paris Olympics has been secured. And with a Golden Generation of Matildas confronting the impermanence of their careers, the stakes of what is to come are increasingly crystalizing.
History; a new memory forged, a connection made, a life-long supporter born, a record smashed, or a paradigm shifted. It’s been a tale that has followed this Matildas' team at nearly every step of their journey in recent years on both a footballing and cultural level, helping to drive a redefinition of what is possible on a level far beyond the scope of Australian football.
Indeed, so routine has it all become that as one stared out across the packed confines of Marvel Stadium on Wednesday, the 12th straight occasion this side has sold out a fixture at home, with the unmistakable purple hue of the new goalkeeping kits that had gone on sale the day prior dotted throughout the crowd, it would have been all too easy to forget just how remarkable it all was; the Matildas' achievements casting an illusion that this cultural-shifting success was some kind inevitable outcome or that its impact could be taken for granted.
On the pitch, there were new parts of the story being written, too. A 10-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan, securing a 13-0 win on aggregate, booked Tony Gustavsson’s side one of the two Asian slots on offer for the Paris 2024; joining Japan after their win over North Korea. With strikes in the 22nd and 94th minutes, Kaitlyn Torpey and Amy Sayer netted maiden international goals, while Mary Fowler, at 21 years and 14 days old, became the second-youngest player in the team’s history to reach 50 caps, trailing only Lisa Casagrande. Notably, this is the first time in the team’s history that it has qualified for three straight Olympic Games.
Now, Paris awaits, as does, in a way, the one missing piece of the puzzle. From a legacy standpoint, this team is arguably already immortal in Australian sport – the change that they’ve ushered in has seen them metamorphose beyond sport into more of a cultural touchstone – the only thing missing is silverware.
For magnificent as this Golden Generation are, those who will likely serve as the team’s backbone in Paris have yet to secure a major international crown. They’ve come close, heartbreakingly so, but never been able to break through.
Defeats to Sweden and the United States at the Tokyo Olympics denied them a medal in their first-ever appearance at the final four of an Olympiad, while defeat against England and the Swedes put a sour note on an otherwise magical run to the semifinals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil. Nadeshiko Japan, meanwhile, downed them in back-to-back Asian Cup finals in 2014 and 2018, before Korea handed the side an inglorious quarter-final exit in 2022.
Of the squad that took part in the most recent round of Olympic qualifiers, only Clare Polkinghorne, Tameka Yallop, and Aivi Luik had the experience of winning the 2010 Asian Cup. Sam Kerr, Elise Kellond-Knight, Kyah Simon, and Casey Dumont were the other members of that unit that are still active today but Kerr is already assured to miss Paris as she recovers from an ACL tear, while the other three would be considered significant longshots at best.
For the likes of Steph Catley (30 years old), Caitlin Foord (29), Katrina Gorry (31), Alanna Kennedy (29), Hayley Raso (29), Emily van Egmond (30), and even bolter Michelle Heyman (35), time is running out on their chances, while they’re still in something approximating their prime years, to give a Golden Generation a silver (or gold, or bronze) lining.
It’s something that these players are acutely aware of and have a burning desire to accomplish. They adore their legacy but they’re also elite footballers and one doesn’t rise to the level they have without an inherent, fierce drive to not only test oneself at the highest level, but emerge victorious in the aftermath.
Adding a further wrinkle, coach Tony Gustavsson is out of contract following the conclusion of the Olympic campaign and while the Swede has come under significant pressure for his selections, in-game management, and how his side functions, there’s no guarantee that any replacement Football Australia identifies should he depart, medal-less, would be any better.
Indeed, for all the bugbears surrounding him – the decision to bring on his veteran core as substitutes when already up 8-0 at halftime on Wednesday a notable recent example – Gustavsson’s Matildas have demonstrated that in the right game state, they are capable of getting out with speed and scoring on pretty much anyone in the world. Further, in the wake of Clare Hunt’s emergence and Mackenzie Arnold’s entrenchment as the number one, what was once a leaky defence is now a rather stout positive.
"It’s sad, [the Olympics] obviously being the last major tournament for some of us, but I think it could be a pretty special one," Gorry said on Wednesday. "To go out with a bang would be pretty amazing for all of us.
Taken together, it all inevitably serves to re-frame the coming Olympics for Australia. The stakes are the same as in previous games, gold is still gold and silver is still silver, but the context surrounding the tournament has served to ratchet things up a notch.
It’s not just another chance to grab a medal and a major international crown, it’s potentially the last one a great number of this squad will get to do so. This tournament is in Paris, not Australia, so legacy can take a backseat to winning. If not now, when?
Gustavsson, for his part, doesn’t think the team’s legacy will be defined by silverware but can feel this desire from his players just as much as everyone else.
“When it comes to medals, I really want that for the players,” he said. “I want that for Steph. And I want that for the players. For them to get some tangible to have there.”
But, as with all good things in life, tangibility and the finer things won’t come easy. While the likes of Great Britain and Sweden will not be present, the field for the Paris games, in which just 12 teams will compete, is one of the most competitive in recent memory.
Host nation France, who were defeated by Spain in the final of the inaugural Women’s Nations League overnight, have qualified automatically as hosts, joined by the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, and Japan. Two nations from the quartet of Zambia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria – who sent Australia’s World Cup campaign to the brink with a 3-2 group stage win a year ago – will place off to secure one of Africa’s two places in April.
So with it the potential last hurrah for many of these players, is it a medal or a bust? Even accounting for the challenging field? Maybe. But perhaps that’s too simplistic a view to have of things.
To be certain, it’s difficult to see Football Australia falling over itself to bring back Gustavsson should the side fail to at least match their reaching of the last four in Tokyo, given that those criticisms of him will have likely come back to bite in such a scenario. And even if he does medal he could easily opt to walk away on a high
But what happens if the side gets imperious Spain in a semifinal? Or runs up against a Japanese side that doesn’t allow itself to be physically bullied out of a tournament like they were against Sweden in 2023? Is it an ignominy to lose to a better team?
In these circumstances, perhaps it's more important how things played out. Did the team arrive in Paris playing the type of football that demonstrated clear growth and was the sort that deserved a medal? Or were the long-standing bugbears of the commentariat on full display, with chaos and vibe-based football ending in a predictable manner against the world’s best?
The journey to figuring that out, properly, starts in April, when the Matildas will face Mexico in a friendly in Texas.
Coming off the back of an impressive 2-0 win over the USWNT, in which they outshot and comfortably handled their foes despite having just 38% of the ball, El Tri Femenil will provide a healthy acid test to the work that Gustavsson says has been going into his team following the World Cup – seeking to address the longstanding (and hardly unique to the Matildas in an Australian football context) issue of functionality in possession.
"After the World Cup, we analysed what we needed to improve. We know that we're top three in the world when it comes to breaking the last line, our vertical game in behind the last line has been tremendously good over the last two years and our pressing game has been really good," said Gustavsson.
"But we've struggled in the build-up phase to break the first and second line in possession and we've also struggled a little bit against low blocks to create when there's less space behind the backline. So we invested a lot of time to plan for that and be better at it.
"We've been on the journey to that and to see five games against low blocks ending up with a 26-0 in differential.
“Now we're sending messages to our opposition that, if you press us, we'll go behind you, because we use the space and speed. If you park the bus, we open it up, because we have tools to do that now.”
Message sent? Message received? A message with actual weight behind it when the rubber meets the road? We’ll soon find out.
Header Image Credit: The Matildas/Football Australia
