Matildas homecoming shapes as make or break for coach Gustavsson

The only positive it was possible to take from the Matildas’ latest defeat under Tony Gustavsson this week was the performance of Mary Fowler. The teenager scored two goals in the 3-2 defeat to the lowly-ranked Ireland - but had it not been for some astute scouting three years ago, she would have been playing for the opposition.

With the 2023 World Cup on the horizon, the rise of Fowler is one source of optimism. Whether she will be joined in the side by other emerging talents is anyone’s guess.

Three years ago, Fowler was off the grid. Having developed beyond the sight of most selectors in Far North Queensland, it was only a chance training session that put her on the radar of Australia. When she turned up with her brother to train with Newcastle, then Matildas coach Alen Stajcic received a text about a special talent.

Within days, he drove up to watch Fowler play a friendly - and immediately set about getting her in the Young Matildas system. Within months, Stajcic handed the 15-year-old Fowler a full Matildas debut against the might of Brazil.

Had Stajcic not gone to watch her train in person, Fowler could very easily have remained on the path towards representing the country of her father’s birth.

The nursery that will provide the next crop of Australian talent is one Gustavsson has still to experience in person. It’s now a year since he took the reigns of the Matildas, but the Swede is still yet to set foot in Australia.

Instead, he is advised on emerging talent by scouts and assistant coacheson the ground, while the last W-League season was analysed over video streams.

“It’s not OK”: Gustavsson took aim at the players’ mentality after the loss to Ireland

Of course, these aren’t normal times. The Matildas haven’t played at home in the past year and had four friendlies in Europe in the first half of 2021. Travel is difficult and expensive, while the mandated14-day quarantine in Australia is arduous. However, those are all obstacles undertaken by players and Gustavsson’s assistants.

Privately, eyebrows were raised within women’s football circles last May when 26 players were selected for a four-day Matildas talent identification camp in Sydney run by assistant coach Mel Andreatta. Again, Gustavsson observed via video streams and zoom calls.

According to a W-League coach who spoke on condition of anonymity, there is a degree of acceptance to this “as long as the footage takes into account the whole pitch and what they do off the ball.”

However, the coach said the approach also comes with a considerable risk: “The thing you don’t get a picture of is players’ attitude, how coachable they are - and you’re also putting a lot of trust on the view of other people [assistants and scouts].”

Football Australia told the Herald that Gustavsson’s permanent base in Europe allows him to keep a closer watch over the Matildas’ best players now plying their trade on the continent, although some may argue the likes of Sam Kerr, Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley select themselves at national level.

Over the course of his first year at the helm, the Matildas’ form has been uninspiring. Gustavsson inherited a team ranked seventh in the world last September. After eight defeats, two draws and two wins in his 12 games in charge, the Matildas slumped to 11th last month.

While they reached the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympic, they won just one match in the tournament over 90 minutes - beating New Zealand 2-1. Their latest loss - to an Irish side ranked 22 spots lower and which has never qualified for a World Cup - set alarm bells ringing.

At the heart of that was something that has become worryingly consistent under Gustavsson - a disorganised defence. The back line was open for business in the warm-ups to the Olympics, laid bare in Tokyo and has shown no signs of improving since then.

In the aftermath of the loss to Ireland, Gustavsson took aim at the players’ desire.

“I said in the circle with the team afterwards that it felt like they wanted it more than us. That’s not OK. We’re the Matildas,” he said. “It felt like Ireland wanted it more. That hurts, to be honest. I need to look at myself in the mirror as well to ask, could I have done something different to prep the team in terms of that? Then I looked at the stats ... that kind of paints the picture pretty good.”

Morale and emotion are big for Gustavsson. So, too, statistics, however detailed. But the most obvious stat is the most damning: the team’s record.

The Matildas are tipped to return to Australia next month. Two home friendlies against Brazil are scheduled for October while another agianst USA is pencilled in for November. Gustavsson’s first visit Down Under could make or break his reign.

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