The Matildas, Australia’s national women’s soccer team, lost to the USWNT 2-1 the other day meaning their hopes of progressing in the Paris Olympics were out of the window. And that wasn’t the end of their horrible time in this international competition. It seems as though their beloved coach — or so we thought — is also on his way out the door after a poor showing at this summer competition has made the federation cut ties with the Swedish coach.
Gustavvson Left the Matildas by Mutual Decision
Gustavsson, a Swedish coach, headed home with the Matildas after the tough defeat against the USWNT in France just yesterday — but he might be headed home on a plane back to Sweden instead of Australia. The Matildas usually show up and play well in international competitions, performing better than expected during the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last summer.
They also have a track record of doing well in the Olympic Games for their country, often making it past the group stages to the quarter-finals or semi-finals of the women’s competition. However, leaving in the group stages after finishing third has made it the worst Olympic performance in five appearances — which is just too poor to overlook from a federation standpoint.
Unfortunately, despite the poor results, it seems that Australia and the Matildas liked having Gustavsson as the head coach. He was an emotional manager who loved being in charge of the players and helping them along the way. The goodbye was a tough one, as the current and former squad alike both enjoyed having him as a passionate coach.
Now, Australia is left without a gaffer during this in-between time, as other countries are still at the Olympics in Paris and the Matildas are back on home soil. Where do they go from here?
Matildas in the Olympics
The Matildas didn’t have a horrible showing in the Olympics, but it just wasn’t good enough. They lost their opening match after coming out with low energy and a lackluster appearance, not giving the same drive and effort they did during every single Women’s World Cup match. However, they bounced back with a resounding 6-5 victory over Zambia that had the entire country on their feet cheering for the girls in green.
Despite the little bit of hope, they clawed back with the three points against the African nation, their dreams of moving on were dashed by the U.S. soccer team as they won 2-1. And when you look at the stats and highlights of the game, it is a surprise that the USWNT didn’t score even more goals on the Matildas.
Now, the Matildas head back to Australia and to their respective domestic leagues. Many leagues around the world are currently on hiatus for the Olympics, so the girls can have some time to rest and recover. Stars like Katrina Gorry are still recovering from a long-term injury, whereas Sam Kerr is in the same boat — she didn’t even feature for the Matildas after undertaking an extensive recovery from an ACL tear back in January while she played for Chelsea in the FA WSL.
Hopefully, the Matildas can find a new coach before they get back to training with the national team. Gustavsson was the manager of the Australian women’s team since 2020, leading them to six wins and three losses in the 2022 international friendlies, a 3-1 record at the 2022 AFC women’s Asian Cup, a 2-1 record during the 2023 international friendlies, and a 4-3 record at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Stay tuned to keep watching the Paris Olympics and see which teams move on from the quarterfinals. One of the games to watch is the USWNT, featuring players like Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman.
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