By Genevieve Henry 3/4/24
Above: Australia training in Florida. Photo: Rachel Bach, Football Australia
The Matildas have just begun national team camp in Florida in preparation for a friendly against Mexico next week. After the first training session, two veterans of the team, Alanna Kennedy and Emily Van Egmond, spoke to the media.
Only a small group were able to train as the arrivals trickled in, Kennedy saying, “it’s nice to be in the sun. It was just good to get the legs going after the flight.” With long travel associated with serious injuries, the European-based majority of the team will have a reprieve compared to their usual tedious travel home.
This camp is a unique one for the Matildas, with just one game instead of two, leaving the team much more time to train together and gel ahead of the Olympics. Kennedy said, “it’s a good opportunity for us to get more sessions together. Obviously when we have the two games, it’s always a quick transition from our clubs into game mode for the Matildas, having to taper into the game and not getting too much tactics under our belt. So, to have that training load and opportunity for us to really work on things as a team is good.”
With the Olympics just around the corner, Australia are in full preparation mode, testing personnel and tactics that will carry them through the Olympics. “It’s a good opportunity for us to spend as much time as we need on the training paddock.” Van Egmond said, “it’s a bit different, we’ll be able to get a couple more training sessions in, which I think is valuable for us as we prepare for the Olympics.” She emphasised the importance of getting fresh ideas and each player focusing on being the best they can be.
Looking back at their Olympics qualifiers, Kennedy reflected, “it’s not easy qualifying through Asia. We always want to be at these major tournaments to test ourselves against the best. It’s a great achievement from the team to have qualified for our third Olympics in a row.” Van Egmond reiterated her teammate’s point, saying, “it’s an amazing achievement…we’re just so happy now that it’s out of the way. Now we can focus fully on our preparation heading into the tournament. You don’t get as much time as you would love together, so it’s just about making sure you make every minute count and put our heads down and work as hard as we can before Paris.”
With the recently-drawn Olympic groups in mind, Kennedy expressed both the difficulty of Australia’s group (Australia, Germany, USA, and either Morocco or Zambia) and the whole tournament. “I think when you look across the groups, they’re all hard. The margins are so small in women’s football at the moment with the top ten or fifteen teams in the world. It’s definitely going to be a test, every single game. We’ve definitely got a challenge ahead but I think we’re all excited for it. As Matildas, we love to rise to those big occasions.”
The Matildas have put all of their focus on that first game against Germany, Van Egmond saying, “I think it’s important to just focus on that first game. We treat it the same way we treated that Ireland game in the World Cup. We go into that game with great confidence and belief in the team, which I know the girls have. It can potentially set us up to have a great group stage.”
One problem the Matildas are facing is playing time and injuries. With many players being over or under-utilised at their clubs, they not only risk injury but form. Alongside Sam Kerr who will almost certainly miss the Olympics with her torn ACL, Katrina Gorry, Clare Hunt, and Courtney Nevin all had to withdraw from this camp due to injury, a concerning sight for the Matildas. While this gives opportunities to players such as Emily Gielnik, Winonah Heatley, and Sharn Frier, having two or three of Australia’s best players in doubt is obviously detrimental to the side.
Luckily for Australia, Kennedy was back in the starting lineup in club land for Manchester City, alongside fellow Matildas Mary Fowler. “I was out through injury for a while, and being at such a great team, there are many quality players around, so I’m happy to have gotten my spot back and hopefully that continues through to the end of the season.”
Van Egmond has already made her impact at the beginning of her second season with San Diego in the NWSL, scoring a stoppage-time winner to secure Wave’s first ever win over Seattle Reign. “I was pleased to get on the scoreboard, hopefully I can continue to get a few more goals and help the team in any way that I can.”
Looking to the Mexico game, an unfamiliar but exciting opponent, both players expressed the necessity of focusing on strengthening themselves. Kennedy said, “I’ve not faced Mexico before, so I’m looking forward to playing them. They’re obviously a strong team, but for us the focus is on ourselves and working on our style of play, progressing our game from previous camps and looking to get a win as well.”
Van Egmond continued Kennedy’s statement, saying the important thing was “just getting on the same page and utilising the time that we have, as we don’t have much time. If we can nullify some things we need to get better before the tournament, that’s the main objective. We want to put on a good performance against Mexico, as every single game is gonna count.”
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