‘They want to learn’: Gustavsson defends Matildas selections in Canada

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Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson says he is willing to take the hit for Saturday’s 5-0 loss to Canada as long as it does not seep into the “safe space” he has created for young players to develop.

Gustavsson has been widely criticised for his approach to the humiliation in Langford after starting an inexperienced line-up against the Olympic champions, throwing several players with few to no caps in the deep end as an “extreme” way of testing out young talent while also managing the heavy club loads of his preferred XI.

The Swede had pre-planned his approach to his team’s last camp before February’s Olympic-qualifying play-offs against Uzbekistan, on Friday explaining he would deploy a mostly green line-up in the first game and revert to the first team for the final match.

In Tuesday’s press conference ahead of the second friendly in Vancouver, Gustavsson reiterated he had tried to do a better job explaining his plans than he had last year, when a similarly inexperienced group were beaten 7-0 by Spain.

“But as a coach, you know what it’s like when you lose the game – either you get criticised for not explaining what you’re doing, or you get criticised for the explanation you gave,” he said. “That’s how it works when you lose 5-0 in this game.

“As long as that criticism is to me, it’s fine, but I think we need to be very respectful for these players. I think they were extremely professional in this last game to go all in and try things, and also credit to experienced players and my support staff around to create a safe space for these young players to be out there and play this game.

Remy Siemsen tries to fend off Jessie Fleming at Starlight Stadium on Saturday.Credit: Getty

“Some people probably go ‘hey, is this fair to the players to give them this type of experience?’. They love it. This is what they want. They want to play against top teams. They want to learn.

“And then I wanted to balance that with the opportunity to have some continuity as well in a line-up because this might be the only camp before the Olympics when we can play a top-ranked nation.

“The final thing I want to say is I always, always consider player welfare and wellbeing, and we had load management in this camp as well to protect players who have had a tremendous amount of load before after the camp.”

Gustavsson said a part of Saturday’s approach was to play out from the back to ensure that, come the Olympics, opponents do not face a predictable Matildas attack.

Tony Gustavsson, seen here during the World Cup, has again defended his approach to the Matildas’ two away friendlies against Canada.Credit: Getty

“For example, three goals we conceded by getting dispossessed in our own half,” he said. “I would never blame that individual player for that mistake. It’s on me.

“I really pushed them to the limit to try things in this game to see where we’re at and what that looks like against a top-10 ranked opponent, and I think the players committed tremendously. So credit to them. It’s up to me now to protect them, and if someone should be criticised, it should be me. I can take those hits. That’s up to me to protect the space for the players to really develop.

“Hopefully when you talk to those players that played that game, they’re not going to be mad about that line-up, or mad about getting the opportunity, or frustrated or scared or scarred. They’re going to be like ‘hey, this was really valuable for me, this is really what I needed. I got a lot of answers. I feel the support from the players, [and the] coaching staff, and I’m going to bring this experience with me when I leave camp as well and be hungry for more’.”

The other welfare issue at Starlight Stadium was the artificial turf, compounded by rain which made the surface slippery. But Gustavsson praised the “technical quality” of the artificial turf at Vancouver’s BC Place, which has been renamed Christine Sinclair Place to celebrate Canada’s retiring great in her final international game.

Katrina Gorry may turn out for the Matildas despite missing a training session.Credit: Getty

Likely to start the second game are Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Clare Hunt and Ellie Carpenter (who did not play at all in the first game) and Mary Fowler, Hayley Raso, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Alanna Kennedy (who came off the bench).

Sam Kerr and Mackenzie Arnold withdrew from this camp through injury and Katrina Gorry sat out training on Tuesday but may yet be available.

Certain to play for Canada is Sinclair, who played half an hour off the bench on Saturday and on Wednesday will mark her final international at 40 years old having scored 190 goals – a record across both the men’s and women’s games – appeared at six World Cups and won an Olympic gold medal.

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