Above: The Australia squad for the Olympics. Photo: Kris Goman for Impetus.
By Kieran Yap (19/7/24)
After an historic run to the World Cup semi-finals in 2023 and a fourth-place finish at the last Olympics in Toyko, The Matildas will be hungry to go one step further in Paris. Even without superstar captain Sam Kerr, this is a team stacked with prodigious and experienced talent, capable of winning a medal. However, a tough group may have something to say about that.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Mackenzie Arnold, Teagan Micah.
Defenders: Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley (captain), Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Clare Polkinghorne.
Midfielders: Kyra Cooney-Cross, Katrina Gorry, Hayley Raso, Kaitlyn Torpey, Emily van Egmond (vice-captain), Clare Wheeler, Tameka Yallop.
Forwards: Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Michelle Heyman, Cortnee Vine.
Alternate Players (can only be selected if any players above are injured): Lydia Williams (GK), Courtney Nevin (DF), Charlotte Grant (DF), Sharn Freier (FW).
Head coach
This is Tony Gustavsson’s second Olympics with Australia and may be his last tournament with The Matildas as his contract expires at the end of the Games. The Swede has been a polarising figure in Australian football. Long-term Matildas fans appreciate his efforts to expand on the team tactically and address specific shortcomings in their game, but a common criticism is his hesitancy to turn to the bench during matches.
Despite an imperfect record, Gustavsson has guided Australia to an Olympic and World Cup semi-final finish. Paris will be his chance to go one step further.
Olympics History
Australia has competed in four Olympic tournaments with 2021 in Tokyo being their best result. As hosts in Sydney 2000, their tournament ended in the group stage and four years later in Athens, they reached the quarter-finals.
This generation of Matildas was eliminated by Brazil at the Rio Olympics after an epic and controversial penalty shootout in 2016, and in 2021 they finished fourth after losing 4-3 to the USA in the bronze medal match.
Sam Kerr is their leading Olympics scorer with seven goals across two tournaments. Six of those came in Toyko. She will be absent in Paris, but Caitlin Foord and Michelle Heyman both have two goals as Olympians.
How they qualified
Australia hosted one of the second phase groups of the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2023. Sellout crowds in Perth watched The Matildas defeat Iran, The Philippines, and Chinese Taipei to set up a two-legged play-off against Uzbekistan.
The away leg in Tashkent was challenging. Uzbekistan sat deep and frustrated the Australian attack, but substitute Michelle Heyman broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute to set up a 3-0 win.
The home leg was an emphatic 10-0 victory in a packed Marvel Stadium in Melbourne where over 50,000 fans saw Heyman score four first-half goals to effectively book her own ticket to Paris. It was an impressive display against an up-and-coming but still inexperienced Uzbekistan team, and a promising performance in their last competitive match before the Olympics.
Australia qualified for the Olympics with a perfect record, and 26 goals scored with none conceded.
Strengths
Although Australia has worked to add more strings to their bow, one of their main strengths is the counterattack. The pace of Hayley Raso, Ellie Carpenter, and Caitlin Foord combined with the finishing and passing vision of Heyman and Mary Fowler mean that they can go from end to end in a matter of seconds.
If Katrina Gorry is fit, her midfield partnership with Kyra Cooney-Cross brings out the best in both of them and provides a combative, fluid, and creative midfield that both attack and defence can be built around.
Development areas
Australia’s most recent friendly matches have been used to improve their passing out from defence. The Matildas coaching staff have identified it as an area that the team needs to improve on after the World Cup and although the results have made for hard viewing, it is an important attribute in modern football.
The success of this tactic relies heavily on the mobility of the midfield. They have tried different formations and personnel to mixed effect and as of the second match against China, it appears to still be a work in progress.
Key Players
In the absence of Sam Kerr, the focus will be on the entire attack. The Matildas are more than capable, but unlike the 2023 World Cup, the surprise factor will largely be gone.
Hayley Raso’s improved finishing and blistering pace will make her a vital component of the Matildas success. Michelle Heyman will be pivotal in creating space for Foord, Raso, and Fowler while occupying defenders and attacking crosses.
Kyra Cooney-Cross was a standout player during the World Cup, and finding her best role will be crucial for any success. She has been used as a solo deep-lying midfielder but can be marked out of the game in that more stationary role. If she can be unleashed to run box-to–box like she was in the 2023 friendly against England, she could help define the tournament for the Aussies.
Similarly to Cooney-Cross, finding Mary Fowler’s most effective role within the team will be an important part of these Olympics. The versatile young star can play anywhere in attack, or in a central midfield role. Her best positions seems to be wide on the left, but that may impede on Foord’s considerable influence.
Australia’s squad has good players in every position, it is just a matter of finding the best way of utilising them.
One to Watch
On an international scale, Michelle Heyman is a relative unknown. The A-League Women’s record scorer has looked like a footballer reborn after her short retirement in 2019/20 and has looked right at home since returning from the international wilderness as Australia’s centre forward. With five goals in qualifying, Heyman looks ready for this level, but international football has changed greatly since her last Olympics in 2016.
Heyman will be tested against some of the best teams in the world in the group stage alone, but she relishes the big occasion and this could be her chance to shine in front of a whole new audience.
Success would be
The Matildas have made no secrets about the desire for a medal. Some like Katrina Gorry have hinted that this may be their last chance, other feel the pain from coming so close in Tokyo and at a home World Cup and burn to go one step further.
They have set high expectations, and the belief within the team that they can reach that lofty goal is strong. However, they have put pressure on themselves publicly and anything less than a podium finish will feel like a failure despite this being one of the toughest Olympic football tournament in history at least on paper.
Prediction
Quarter Finals. Getting out of a group that contains a refreshed USA, a Germany in search of redemption and a Zambia side on a rapid rise will be its own achievement. A strong third-place finish could see them advance to the knockout rounds where anything can happen.
From there they could face hosts France in a rematch from the World Cup quarter-final or possibly World Champions Spain.
There is no easy route to the medal matches, but Australia feels ready. However, competition at the pointy end is tougher than it has ever been, and a Quarter Final exit would not be surprising for any nation except possibly Spain.
Group fixtures
25th July Germany v Australia, 7.00pm (local) / 3.00am AEST, Stade de Vélodrome, Marseille.
28th July Australia v Zambia, 7.00pm (local) / 3.00am AEST, Stade de Nice.
31st July (local) (1st August Australia) Australia v United States, 7.00pm (local) / 3.00am AEST, Stade de Vélodrome.
Missed any of Impetus’ other Olympic nation guides so far? Catch up by clicking below!
CANADA: https://impetusfootball.org/2024/07/13/olympics-preview-canada-2/
FRANCE: https://impetusfootball.org/2024/07/14/olympics-preview-france/
COLOMBIA: https://impetusfootball.org/2024/07/15/olympics-preview-colombia/
NEW ZEALAND: https://impetusfootball.org/2024/07/16/olympics-preview-new-zealand-2/
UNITED STATES: https://impetusfootball.org/2024/07/17/olympic-previews-united-states-of-america/
GERMANY: https://impetusfootball.org/2024/07/18/olympics-preview-germany/
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