Next week a major milestone arrives. Come Wednesday, the Matildas will have exactly 100 days before they kick off their Olympic campaign against Germany in Marseille on the day the 2024 Games are declared open. With the clock ticking, coach Tony Gustavsson’s team, led by a standout performance from Caitlin Foord, overcame a stiff test against Mexico to register a satisfactory 2-0 victory in San Antonio and keep preparations on track.
Foord was heavily involved in the opening goal, beautifully finished by Hayley Raso, before adding a second herself in a game of two halves in Texas that saw the Matildas largely stifled as an attacking force before enjoying a far more incisive performance after the break.
“This is exactly what we needed to prepare for the Olympics and learn about ourselves,” said Gustavsson, who must now whittle down his squad to 18 ahead of the trip to France.
The Swede said earlier in the week he didn’t like to use the word experiment, even if he admitted an intention to use this game as an opportunity “to try a lot of things”. A lengthy injury list, which includes the likes of Katrina Gorry, Clare Hunt and long-term absentee Sam Kerr, forced the Swede’s hand somewhat, and despite the verbal gymnastics, a degree of experimentation in Texas was inevitable.
Steph Catley, captain in Kerr’s continued absence, shifted to centre-back, Kaitlyn Torpey moved to left-back and in came Emily van Egmond to replace Gorry in the middle of the field. They were hardly radical changes in personnel but the game did provide Gustavsson a chance to tinker with positional setup and tactics.
“We got some learning in the first 30 minutes and the players grew into the game,” Gustavsson said. “At half-time we did adjustments and had complete domination in the second half, which is one of the better halves we have ever played, attacking-wise. The players were so brave against a very aggressive Mexican team.”
Mexico, ranked 31 in the world and a team on the rise who enjoyed a 2-0 win over the USA earlier this year, pressed high and initially made it difficult for the visitors during a first half in which the Matildas struggled to turn their superior possession into any meaningful threat going forward.
With attacking opportunities few and far between, it took a moment of individual brilliance to unlock the Mexican defence. Raso, back in the starting XI and with a point to prove after a largely underwhelming first and only season at Real Madrid, displayed the kind of touch and vision on the ball that will make her an attractive prospect to post-Olympic suitors as she searches for a new club. A neat turn on the edge of the box from the winger opened up a shooting opportunity, and she found the back of the net despite goalkeeper Esthefanny Barreras getting a hand to the shot.
The goal stemmed from some good work on the left hand side by Foord, who spent the first half rotating between the left and a more central role, with Mary Fowler – as bright as ever – shifting out to the left hand side in an indication of some minor Gustavsson tinkering. But it was from the left that Foord proved most decisive, stepping inside on 52 minutes and wrapping her right boot around the ball to curl into the far corner in an effort equally as impressive as Raso’s opener.
It heralded something of a shift in the dynamic of the game as the Matildas began to succeed where they had failed in the first half, and goal-scoring opportunities arrived with more frequency. Fowler tested Barreras in the Mexico goal with a brisk shot on target, Van Egmond fired over the bar and then substitute Cortnee Vine stung the keeper’s palms in quick succession. Fowler should have added a third in the 78th minute, but her header from an Ellie Carpenter cross looped just over the bar.
Vine was one of five substitutes deployed in the second half, along with Clares Polkinghorne and Wheeler, Charlie Grant and Sharn Freier, who was handed her first international cap but was afforded little time to make an impression. Mexico, for their part, threatened in fits and starts, and at times looked most dangerous on the break, but mostly lacked the nous in the final third. Just once was Mackenzie Arnold truly tested in the Australian goal, by Jasmine Casarez late on.
Gustavsson now has a further two games – both against China in Adelaide and Sydney at the end of May and in early June – to settle on the players he will take to France. There the Matildas play Germany, the USA and Zambia, who were confirmed earlier the day as the final opponents in Australia’s group after their African playoff win over Morocco.
