Horror trend Matildas must halt; why USA loss was worse than it first seems — Talking Points

The Matildas are a team caught in transition in almost every sense at the moment. Their 2-1 defeat to the USA once again exposed areas where the side desperately needs to improve on the road to the Asian Cup in Australia next year.

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It would be easy to grow frustrated at losing games while stuck in a holding pattern as Football Australia continues its search for the next full-time coach. To do so would be to ignore the opportunity in-front of this team. Interim coach Tom Sermanni knows what needs to be addressed and if he can do so, whoever takes over, will have a much better base to build from.

International football is unforgiving. Time to work with players and teams is minimal and therefore cannot be wasted. Whatever is left of Sermanni’s tenure, given it has extended longer than most expected, must not only be used to hold the fort, but make it stronger with a major tournament on the horizon.

Japan and now the USA have shown where the cracks in the structure are.

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ANOTHER EARLY GOAL

The Matildas went 1-nil down against the USA after just 41 seconds. It was the fourth time in the last seven games they’ve conceded in the first 10-minutes.

That has gone from a quirk to a trend. The way the USA almost walked the ball into the Australian goal also closely resembled the manner in which Japan dismantled Australia’s structure just days earlier.

However, the Aussies managed to regroup mentally from this latest setback and if you’re looking at the world through a glass that is half-full then this was positive.

“Our effort and our attitude were so much better in this game and especially after the start we had,” Sermanni said after the game.

“I think we could easily have just sort of caved in.

“So, from the perspective of the team digging in and sticking in there I was really pleased with that part of our performance and that effort.”

STYLE OF PLAY

While Sermanni was pleased with the mental toughness of the team he was less enamoured by the technical aspects of their performance with and without the ball during the opening half an hour.

The USA easily played through a disjointed Aussie press that appeared to be stuck in second gear during that period and when the Matildas did have the ball, keeping it for any meaningful amount of time proved difficult.

“We had to make sure that we either stayed a little bit more compact or we made sure that we won more of those challenges and I think as more of the game went on, we started to get more of a foothold in the game,” said Sermanni.

“Once we got a bit of a foothold in the game and started holding possession ourselves that eliminated a lot of that transitional threat.”

The Matildas have fallen into a habit of allowing teams to dominate them physically as well. Sermanni felt they were “bullied” by Japan in their tournament opener last week and that was starting to repeat against the USA.

Mary Fowler accidentally levelling out USA right back Gisele Thompson while challenging for a header seemed to flick a switch and from that point on Australia showed far more fight. The Matildas have often secured their best results while in a combative mood and Sermanni is keen to ensure the players remember it.

“We need to get back to getting closer to teams when we’re trying to press and bring that physical element of the game back,” Sermanni said.

Australia still only finished with 33 per cent of the ball, but that statistic was trending towards a number far worse before Fowler’s foul.

The by-product of minimal possession is minimal chances. The Matildas finished the game against Japan with one shot total and none on target. This time there were seven shots, but only one on target and that was Michelle Heyman’s header for Australia’s only goal in the 80th minute.

When you have the ball around 30 per cent of the time you need to be an incredibly clinical team in the final third to win matches. The Matildas are not at the moment.

“Firstly, I think we do need to still keep the ball better,” was Sermanni’s honest appraisal.

“Our movement needs to be a bit slicker; our rhythm needs to be better, but we also need to, I think, identify threats and be a little bit more aggressive with our forward running and our ability to see forward passes. That’s something that I think going forward we need to do much better.”

FOUR CHANGES FOR AUSTRALIA

Sermanni promised before the tournament that he’d aim for every player in the squad to see game time and he made four changes from the side that was outclassed by Japan.

23-year-old Winonah Heatley spent time at the base of midfield and in the heart of the back four and largely acquitted herself well again.

Charli Grant, also 23, was a bundle of energy barrelling up and down the left flank with captain and usual left back Steph Catley playing centre back alongside Alanna Kennedy; a combination that worked effectively and could be worth sticking with. Teagan Micah replaced Mackenzie Arnold in goal and Melbourne City’s Holly McNamara started up front.

McNamara worked hard without much reward. The 22-year-old is the type of player that would benefit greatly from the Matildas being more composed in possession. Her inclusion had the by-product of Caitlin Foord being able to shift out to the left wing and that is where Australia seems to get the best out of the Arsenal star. Whether Foord prefers that role or being a more central number nine has long been up for debate. Sermanni seems to have settled the argument.

“I thought Caitlin had an outstanding game again today out on the left wing,” he said.

“Our preference and her preference would be to play there. Obviously having Holly as a natural number nine – centre forward – and Michelle (Heyman) helps us to do that and makes the balance a lot better.”

Midfielders Alana Murphy and Laini Freier also came on in the second half becoming Matildas cap numbers 235 and 236 while there was more gametime for emerging players Natasha Prior and Kaitlyn Torpey.

“The key to running any national team is that you have to play for the present and get a result for the present but be planning for the future whilst you’re doing that,” Sermanni said.

“So, it becomes a really important balance to continue to bring young players in and let them see what the environment is, let them see what the level of international football is.”

Sermanni’s eventual replacement will be the beneficiary of this work.

THE RESULT OF THE MATCH IN CONTEXT

The USA might be ranked number one in the world and given that it would be easy to peg a 2-1 defeat as something you could place in the ‘not too bad’ basket.

This, however, was the number one side in the world in name only.

Manager Emma Hayes made 11 changes to the side that beat Colombia on Friday. The starting team boasted eight players who had 25-caps or less including 19-year-old midfielder Claire Hutton who was on debut.

In that context a 2-1 defeat looks a little less palatable given the experience the reigning Olympic gold medallists were missing.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Matildas round off their SheBelieves Cup campaign with a clash against Colombia in San Diego on Thursday.

The South American outfit is also winless through two games after suffering a 4-1 defeat to Japan on Monday.

Sermanni is wary of the workload his most high-profile players have endured already this season so its highly likely he’ll name his third different line-up of the tournament.

“We’ve got some of our players who have played a lot of minutes in their club football and are going back to Europe, straight into games, straight into cup games and straight into Champions League games. So, we’ve got to make sure that those players go back as healthy as possible,” he said.