With a shock 3-2 defeat to their Group B rivals Nigeria, the Matildas are staring down the barrel of exiting the Women’s World Cup at the first hurdle.
Emily van Egmond’s opener in the first half was cancelled out within minutes as Nigeria racked up three unanswered goals to get their first win of the tournament.
Unsurprisingly, those three goals were not the only things that went unanswered as several Australian football fans and pundits were left scratching their heads at a number of coach Tony Gustavsson’s in-game decisions.
Foxsports.com.au analyses the key moments of the game in Matildas Talking Points!
REPORT: Nigerian fairytale, Aussie horror as Matildas’ WC dream on the brink
PLAYER RATINGS: Veteran impresses on return; defensive duo’s lapses prove costly in shock loss
‘NOT A 3-2 LOSS’: Matildas boss gives Bazball vibes with explanation for shock loss
Celebration to shock! Matildas stunned | 00:47
DO THE MATILDAS HAVE A PLAN B?
What do you do when you just can’t score despite 41 crosses, 26 shots, and more than twice as many completed passes as your opponent?
Well, Australia’s Plan B felt like something more akin to Sunday-league football: put on some tall targets in the box and bomb balls in their direction.
Sure, it eventually delivered a goal – in the 10th minute of stoppage time, no less – but for a team that is targeting a maiden World Cup trophy, it seemed an approach born of desperation rather than any tactical nous.
Not to say that it is not a legitimate tactic – Alanna Kennedy and Clare Polkinghorne, two of Australia’s veteran centre defenders, both are aerial weapons who have scored plenty of set piece goals in their time.
Tony Gustavsson referenced in his press conference that the tactic has worked for the Matildas during his tenure, with a late comeback win against New Zealand after throwing Kennedy into the box.
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But the Matildas have a long history of losing composure and their structure in high-pressure tournament situations, such as in prior World Cups or in the disastrous defeat to South Korea early in the Asian Cup last year.
Against Nigeria, the Matildas lost their heads immediately after scoring the opener – with Caitlin Foord copping a yellow card hardly thirty seconds later, before the team being caught out with some sloppy defence in the handful of minutes that remained in first-half stoppage time.
Given the exceptional quality at the Matildas’ disposal – even with some star names stuck on the bench – surely there was a better way of breaking down a resolute Nigeria defence?
Especially since, in the two years under Tony Gustavsson, he has repeatedly spoken of prioritising creating more scoring opportunities from open play.
Gustavsson fielded four different formations against Ireland to adapt to the changing situation in the match.
Against Nigeria, his decision to turn to hoof-and-hope football only led to the Matildas’ desperation increasing and their composure slipping away.
ANY DANGER OF A SUBSTITUTION?
With Australia down 3-1 in the 72nd minute, it became quickly clear the host nation needed an injection of something, anything off the bench to wrestle back control of the contest from Nigeria.
Even after Nigeria had bundled the ball over for their second in the 65th minute, social media was abuzz with football fans and pundits calling for Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson to turn to his bench.
Yet it wasn’t until the 82nd minute when Gustavsson made his first change of the game.
Even then, it was one that left many scratching their heads as the Swede took winger Cortnee Vine off and replaced her with Clare Polkinghorne, a centre back.
With Polkinghorne on, Gustavsson then threw fellow centre back Alanna Kennedy up front as a physical presence to win the ball in the air and help bring her teammates into play.
Gustavsson made his second substitution of the game in the 85th minute when he took off winger Hayley Raso and replaced her with Alex Chidiac, an attacking midfielder.
Although Kennedy went on to score a late consolation and Chidiac provided an attacking spark that was lacking in the second half, it was ultimately not enough to swing the contest in the Matildas’ favour.
Speaking after the game and with the benefit of hindsight, Gustavsson conceded he will have to reflect as to whether his subs were made too late given he saw the positive impact they had.
“In terms of the late subs, it’s something I need to look at as a coach, did I find the right time for the subs tonight,” Gustavsson said in his post-match press conference.
“We did get a massive effect positively when we did it. Did we get that because I did it in the right moment, or should I have done it earlier and we could have played longer with that positive effect.
“It’s something that I’m going to review afterwards. But I do think that the players were really prepared for what we wanted to do.”
Gustavsson’s special praise for Chidiac perhaps hinted he already knows he turned to his bench too late.
“I think Chids came in and was that game changer,” Gustavsson said.
“She was upset that she didn’t score but I said, ‘Hey, you were brilliant Chids when you came in, you were that game changer that we practised.’ She did exactly what she was asked to do.”
Which all begs the question: why did Gustavsson wait so, so long to freshen things up on the park?
According to the man himself, the team seemed to be humming along and didn’t want to shake things up for the sake of it.
“I think some of the players on the park were actually performing pretty well, we had the momentum,” Gustavsson said.
“Sometimes when you want to make a sub, you don’t want to disrupt the momentum in the game. I thought we had a good momentum going.”
With Gustavsson fully aware of the consequences for holding out too long when pondering if it’s time to make a substitution, it can’t happen again when they face Canada on Monday.
THE BIG KERR ‘WHAT IF’ AS AUSTRALIA WAITS FOR VITAL FITNESS TEST
When Sam Kerr was ruled out with a calf injury ahead of the opener against Ireland, she would miss the first game and the Nigeria clash before being reassessed ahead of the game against Canada.
Gustavsson and just about every Australian football fan would have hoped the Matildas would take to the field against Canada with a spot in the knockout stages already sealed, meaning Kerr wouldn’t even need to be risked.
But with one win and one loss and victory very much required against the Olympic gold medallists on Monday, the spotlight on Kerr and her injury prognosis has intensified.
The Matildas boss kept his cards close to his chest during the post-match press conference, revealing that all parties will sit down and devise a plan for Kerr if she is fit.
Which, at this stage, is a very big if.
“Of course she will (insist on playing),” Gustavsson said.
“That’s going to be her mindset and that’s what I love with Sam. She’s going to do anything she can to be out there, I know that.
“She wants to be out there and she deserves to be out there. If she can be out there, she will be out there.
“We just need to plan for 90 minutes together if she’s available. I’m saying if, now.
“We need to come up with a plan together with the staff, together with Sam to see what’s the best to maximise the potential minutes she has going into this game if she’s available.”
If Kerr is passed fit for the Canada clash, it is highly unlikely she will start and would play as an impact substitution off the bench.
But, as we’ve seen in the opening two games, a Matildas team without Kerr lacks that killer instinct up front that she provides.
It’s also had an effect on Caitlin Foord, who has looked so devastating when partnered next to the Chelsea superstar but has struggled to effect games against Ireland and Nigeria.
Australians across the nation will be crossing their fingers and toes in the hope Kerr can overcome her calf issue.
If not, it could spell disaster for the Matildas.
BIG GAMBLE COMES BACK TO BITE
When Tony Gustavsson selected his 23 players to challenge for the World Cup crown on home soil, there was plenty of experience and cover at every position – until injuries struck down two key attacking weapons in Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler.
Kerr suffered a calf injury before the opener against Ireland and has not played the first two games, and there are fears she will not return until much later in the tournament.
Her natural replacement up front was Fowler, who started alongside Arsenal attacker Caitlin Foord in a double striker formation against Ireland.
Then Fowler suffered a concussion (as well as defender Aivi Luik) two days before the Nigeria match, leaving the Australian attacking depth substantially weakened.
The obvious pick to take over was Kyah Simon – except the 32-year-old has not played for club and country since tearing her ACL in October. She is on an individual training program and still far from full fitness, with even a substitute appearance against Canada unlikely.
When selecting the attacker, Gustavsson knew that Simon would not be available until later in the tournament. This would not have been such a problem, until those unfortunate injuries to two key cogs in the Australian attack.
It throws Gustavsson’s decision to select Simon over a fully-fit attacker like 23-year-old Remy Siemsen (Leicester City, six Matildas caps) into stark relief. Siemsen was named in the extended Matildas squad and trained with the team in the fortnight before the tournament before being cut as Gustavsson sharpened his squad to the maximum of 23.
The result was Gustavsson bringing on veteran centre-back Clare Polkinghorne as a substitute and throwing centre-back Alanna Kennedy into centre-forward as a target in the box.
While she scored in the tenth minute of stoppage time, it proved too little too late.
The Swedish mastermind says he chose Simon as a “game-changer” later in the tournament and for her “experience and her personality”.
“I’m never going to regret picking Kyah,” he said Wednesday. “I picked her for different reasons.
“One was we knew she was going to have limited minutes. But her game-changer quality was what we picked her for and what she showed in training last couple of weeks before selection was amazing. We knew it was a risk, but you never know what it’s going to be like.
“The other thing is what she contributed to the group in the locker room and off the pitch with her experience and her personality, but also coming in big-pressure moments, for example extra-time and a PK [penalty kick] shootout.”
Fowler and Luik are in a race against time to complete concussion protocols before the final group game, while Kerr’s availability will not be revealed until the day before the Matildas face Canada – if not on game day.
If they don’t make it, Simon’s selection might turn out to be a bad bet.