By Vince Rugari
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson says he is still unclear on whether injured stars Katrina Gorry and Clare Hunt will be fit for the Olympics as he prepares to roll out a new-look, experimental team for one of their final outings before Paris 2024.
Gorry and Hunt are just two of a raft of Australian players recently struck down by fitness concerns, which will force Gustavsson into testing out some new faces or formations – or both – in Wednesday morning’s (AEST) friendly against Mexico in San Antonio, Texas.
It remains to be seen whether Gorry – who has had surgery to repair an ankle injury that has ruled her out of the remainder of West Ham’s season – and Hunt – out of action for Paris Saint-Germain with a stress fracture in her foot – will recover in time for the Olympic Games or if they will join skipper Sam Kerr on the sidelines. Kerr, however, has still not been officially ruled out by Football Australia.
Australia’s problems go beyond those three first-choice starters, with Lydia Williams (ankle), Chloe Logarzo, Charlie Rule and Courtney Nevin (all hip) also hurt. On the eve of the international window, veteran Aivi Luik went down with a hamstring injury, disrupting what Gustavsson said was a run of career-best form in the UEFA Champions League for Swedish club BK Hacken FF, while Emily Gielnik, a former Matildas regular who received her first call-up in nearly a year as an injury replacement player, had to leave their training camp in Florida after suffering a calf strain.
“During this camp, I’ve focused 100 per cent on the players available here, so don’t have the latest update,” Gustavsson said.
“There’s some core players that were a massive part of our team in the World Cup ... I don’t know the timeline when they get back. I hope, first of all, that they will be available for selection for June. If not, I hope they’re available for selection for the Olympic roster so that I have a tough job, because that selection is going to be a tough job.”
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson is trying to find a silver lining in his team’s injury crisis.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Gustavsson baulked at using his depth players at the World Cup, and has attracted criticism for asking too much of the same core group of starters during major tournaments, but he and stand-in captain Steph Catley said they were confident the next crop will be up to the task against the world No.31-ranked Mexicans, who last month fell to Brazil in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals.
The long list of absentees has yielded chances for uncapped duo Winonah Heatley and Sharn Freier, as well as US-based defender Kaitlyn Torpey, who debuted in Australia’s qualifying victories over Uzbekistan earlier this year, while rarely used players like Everton midfielder Clare Wheeler should see more substantial game time.
“We’ve tried to twist that and look at that as an opportunity instead: to say OK, now we get the chance to look at some other players to test our depth in the roster and also look at some players in different positions,” Gustavsson said.
“Come selection for an Olympic roster, you need to have cover in each position with only 16 outfield players. We have looked at different players in different positions to see how they can cope.
“A couple of players have impressed me, a couple of new players have been able to adjust quickly to this tempo, and some players have struggled with it – and that’s normal, we’ve seen that before, but that’s part of why they’re here; they’ve shown in club [football] that they deserve to be selected into this environment, but also get a taste of what international football is like, and then go back home and work harder to be even more ready next time.”
A rare extended camp, with only one match scheduled for this window, has given Gustavsson the chance to spend more time focusing on training, and working on different ideas and tactics they will unveil in Paris. The only other games the Matildas have locked in before the Olympics are a pair of friendlies against China in Adelaide and Sydney from late next month.
“I don’t like the word experiments, but it will be a day when we’re going to try a lot of things and see where we’re at in that process,” he said.
Catley said: “I’ve never seen this team look so comfortable and confident on the ball, playing through lines and figuring out different presses in different ways as well as they have recently. And I think that’s what excites me the most – the way we’re playing and the type of football we’re playing. I’m excited to just keep building that and see it up against a great opponent in Mexico.”
Watch every match of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League on Stan Sport. All the action streaming ad-free, live and on demand, with select matches in 4K UHD.
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.