Impetus’ Ben Gilby hears from the Matildas assistant coach Mel Andreatta and returning star Chloe Logarzo as the team prepare to face Denmark tomorrow evening (10/10/22).
Above: Chloe Logarzo speaking earlier today. Image: Football Australia.
The early hours of Sunday morning saw the Matildas arrive in Skive to prepare for their fixture against Denmark at Viborg Stadium on 11th October 2022 (local time).
After a day of recovery on Sunday, the team hit the training pitch at the venue of Tuesday night’s match for a familiarisation session.
Assistant Coach Mel Andreatta said the recovery day has been one of the key components of getting ready to take on the world number 17.
“First of all, our preparation has been all about recovery,” said Andreatta. “After the game [on Saturday], we left late at night and arrived here in Denmark at about 2am.”
“It was a long travel day, but it was good for us to get here early to settle in so that we could have that Sunday as a day off for full recovery – mentally and physically.”
“The main message has all been about to keep doing what we did really well. You won’t see too many changes, some tweaks, obviously, because Denmark pose some different challenges.”
“They’ve got some world-class players and they play different systems. We’ve taken that into consideration in our preparation and in our planning.”
For Australia midfielder Chloe Logarzo the short turnaround, while always challenging, is not unfamiliar to the team. Monday’s pre-match session saw the focus centered on ensuring they were set for the Danish test.
“I think we’re all used to it,” said Logarzo. “We’ve had shorter turnarounds at the Olympics before so it’s just another day at the office.”
“The Match Day -1 session was really good. We focused on everything that we normally focus on. We had a good headspace so it’s going to be a really good game.”
Logarzo was part of the squad that played Denmark a little over 18 months ago and since that match in 2021, the Danes have qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 2007.
“They are very structured in their formation. The last time we played them, I think we played well so we’ll be able to do the same things and hopefully get a better result.”
“We know that their transition game is a threat and they’re very good on set pieces,” Andreatta followed up.
“If we allow them to control the game that could be dangerous. For us, it’s been about how we nullify those threats, but also focus on our principles and our strengths, the qualities of the individuals, and the way that we want to play to hurt Denmark.”
The Matildas and Denmark clash will be exclusively live in Australia on Paramount+ with kick-off at 3.00am AEDT.
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