Paris tickets punched, Gustavsson plots months ahead for Matildas

A visit to Gosford, some A-League Women and a trip to Mexico. Tony Gustavsson has some of the months ahead mapped out but, with the Matildas place at the Olympics secure, there's plenty still to plan.

Their job against Uzbekistan now, comprehensively, complete, the thoughts of the Matildas can now turn to the Paris Olympics, of the Olympic Village, the sense of occasion, and the honour of calling oneself an Olympian. For coach Tony Gustavsson, however, this will be accompanied by the challenges associated with twists and turns on the road to get there, and those that, unfortunately, will be lost along the way. 

Opening the scoring after 34 seconds and never looking back, the Matildas cruised to a 13-0 aggregate win over an Uzbek deer caught in the headlights on Wednesday evening, Michelle Heyman grabbing four goals, Kaitlyn Torpey a maiden international strike to go along with two assists, and Mary Fowler proving effervescent as ever as she becoming the second-youngest player in Matildas history to bring up 50 caps. 

In the end, the side in green and gold would have 69% of possession and send in an astonishing 42 shots (20 on target) compared to just the single effort of the Uzbeks. Only eight of these attempts came from outside the box, helping the team register an astounding 6.05 expected goals.

However, while progression beyond their lower-ranked opponents may have been considered a fait accompli by most observers, Gustavsson isn’t 100% certain of what comes next just yet. He’s got some ideas and a rough guide, of course, but not a complete picture. Because call it superstition, a desire to avoid complacency, or ducking the wrath of the footballing gods, his main focus had been on the Uzbeks.

What he’s certain about is that next will be a trip to Gosford, then some A-League Women's games across the coming fortnight. Then comes the April international window, where on the 9th of April his side will face off with Mexico – hot off the heels of an upset 2-0 win over the United States – in Texas. 

There will be scope to add a further fixture to that window in the coming weeks – FIFA mandates that nations can set up two games from April 1 to April 9 – and another two games in the 27th of May to 4th of June window. A further opportunity for games will arrive between July 8 and 16 but, with the Olympics window opening July 25, it is likely that if the 18-player squad hasn’t been selected by then, a provisional squad it will be drawn from will have been decided. 

“I'm heading up to the Central Coast this week, where I have my team manager and my sports science is based,” Gustavsson said. “We're going to have Olympic planning. We've said we want to kind of park that a little bit until we're qualified because we don't want to... focus on qualifying first and didn't want to jinx it. We just wanted to focus on this qualifier. 

“We do have some ideas of what we want to do [but] in terms of games it's limited. You have the national team days that you have and you're trying to make the most out of it. We always look at playing different types of opposition. We want to play away and at home. 

“I'm going to use those games to check back in on the process. Where are we? What do we need to do from a core group standpoint? Meaning there are limited minutes to prepare the core group of players that I know is going to go to the Olympics -- and they need the games but maybe also I need to look at a few players to make decisions. So finding that sweet spot on that balance is going to be key. 

“In the upcoming weeks now, I'm going to watch some A-League games and plan that straight away. And I'm going to try to prioritise a couple of games where I know I want to look at players. And then I want to go back and watch some Champions League in Europe, there are some important Champions League games coming up very soon that I'm going to go back and watch as well.”

Of course, the process of determining pre-Olympic opponents and determining which club games to visit pales in difficulty to the most crucial task facing Gustavsson now that his side has confirmed their presence in Paris: figuring out who is going to be on the plane, and who will not be. The Swede has spoken throughout his tenure about how performing these acts of bloodletting is part of his job that he hates the most, and that’s mostly been when he’s figured out squads of 23, 22, or 26 – not the limited numbers that the Olympics allow. 

As the joy of qualification subsides, a simmering undercurrent of tension now emerges. While there are some players that, short of disaster, are obviously going – the likes of Steph Catley Mary Fowler, and Caitlin Foord – there are plenty of others that need to press their case. 

Now, every game, every training session, every injury, nay, every moment may prove decisive. 

“Everyone's quite aware that the Olympics squad's a lot smaller than our regular 22, 23 player squads for competitions like this,” said Clare Hunt. “So it's always been cut-throat and I think that's the nature of the Matildas setup is everyone's competing for a spot and everyone wants game time. So that's the nature of the sport, and I feel like there is a competitiveness within the squad. But it's also healthy competition too. So it's great.”

One of the biggest areas of intrigue, inevitably, will be Heyman’s candidacy. She’s not the future, but is she the present? 

Brought into the squad to provide a different kind of outlet following Sam Kerr’s ACL injury, the 35-year-old provided the breakthrough after a frustrating 73 minutes in the opening leg in Tashkent and followed that up with her impressive four-goal at Marvel Stadium. 

Indeed, while Gustavsson has shown a willingness to deploy Foord, Fowler and Emily van Egmond up top, mostly in a false nine-role throughout his tenure and this approach has been able to feast in certain game states – most notably against Canada in the Women’s World Cup when Hayley Raso’s goal forced the Canadians to chase the game –  the instincts, positioning, and finishing ability of Heyman were on full display against the Uzbeks.

Against an opponent that (tried) to sit back and absorb pressure, the Canberra United attacker demonstrated time and time again her ability to find a way to be in the right place at the right time, displaying a level of clinicality as all four of her shots found the back of the net as well as dropping to involve herself in the build-up. 

“A lot of people told me that I couldn't do it, you're too old,” she said. So it's really nice to be able to show people that it doesn't matter how old you are, you can just get out there. If you love the game and you push yourself you can achieve anything. 

“It's always a lot of fun to try and be like Sam [Kerr] but we're very different players. She's just quality and I'm proud of everything that she's achieved in her journey so far. I've watched her grow up since she was a 16-year-old kid coming into the league and just destroying everyone. So I aspire to be like her. 

“We're very similar in certain ways, but I play my own game as well. And I think I can bring some things that are quite different to what Sam brings as well. So it's just nice to be able to be that nine, that solid nine who can get in the box and just dominate when you're in front of the goal. But it's been an incredible journey and I'm grateful for the opportunity. So I'm just trying my hardest.”

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