Im far removed from having a clear opinion on this either way but just want to understand why the 79 team players would be so against some of their peers also getting a little recognition???  OK it was an adhoc selection process if you can call it even that but, shouldn't pioneers in ANYTHING be celebrated?  Not wanting to disrespect either point of view but it just seems a little petty to me. 

Because it wasn't a selected side for starters. Also benched players with no game time got a cap which has never happened before. So now every player ever that got selected (men and women) and didn't play are entitled to a cap according to the FA. Does that seem right to you?

They could have recognised them without saying they were a 'national side'.

They brought in 4 ringers from overseas to get the result they wanted after a panel of Australian football statisticians and historians said no they weren't.

The FA has tried to keep both parties happy and it's blown up in their faces.

'When you try and please everyone, you please no one'.

In 1905 a mens side played NZ. Are they now our first national side?

Because it was a club side not a national side. There was no selection process. Acknowledge them, yeah, but don't call them original Matildas.

Just like the 1904 side that played NZ was an NSW side, not an Australian team.

Thanks to both for clarifying... Makes a little more sense now. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_at_the_2024_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_tournament

Game against Canada in Marbella Sunday 5am AEST. 

Anti spam bump 

https://www.youtube.com/live/NPn73lWMscU?si=PSxnqMUb2rl-p_w8

Game live here. 

Update to starting XI after warm-up:

Caitlin Foord out and Sharn Freier in, with Sharn making her first start for Australia.

SQUAD NOTES:
•⁠ ⁠Catley and Torpey: Steph Catley and Kaitlyn Torpey remain unavailable for the fixture due to lower leg injuries.
•⁠ ⁠Micah: Teagan Micah arrived in camp during the final stages of her ankle rehabilitation. In order to ensure she is available for the first match of Paris 2024™, Micah will not be involved in tonight’s match.
•⁠ ⁠Yallop: Tameka Yallop sustained a minor impact injury to her leg in training. As a precaution she will not participate in tonight’s match while further medical assessment is undertaken.

At least 4 alternatives to cover serious injuries are available for the Olympics. It should just be squads of 21 given what can happen during a tournament. 

Freier scores in debut. Nicely picked by Fowler and Freier with a good first move to shoot past 2 defenders and the keeper was a bit dodgy there. 

Arnold fumbles and it's 1:1. Geez that's bad. 

2nd goal conceded was preventable too. Real ball watching had a lot of time to pick up that there was a player free in the box

This morning's match not regarded as an "A" international- so no caps for the players.

Yet a club side in 1975 are now awarded caps.

Was it Polkinghorne's fault? Haven't watch the game but caught a glimpse of the highlights and she was on the bloody field.

Yeah and I saw on Twitter Craig Foster posting a photo of him with them. Clown.

Germany back to winning ways 3:0 against Austria while England qualify for next year's Euros in Switzerland. Lena Oberdorf of Germany with a big knee concern pre Olympics.

Stunning revelations have been made about the disorganisation and disunity in the Matildas camp as their Olympic campaign lurches towards disaster

.The Australian has exclusively uncovered the disharmony under coach Tony Gustavsson in a bombshell report published on Tuesday night.

Here's the text of that article.

Tony Gustavsson’s reign as Matildas coach is due to finish after this Olympics, but questions have been raised about his management of the team during the Games.

Football Australia is yet to ­publicly say if his contract will be renewed but the signs are he is unlikely to be offered another deal.

Gustavsson’s tactics, his “disorganised” direction and dedication have been questioned during the Olympics campaign. One source said the campaign had been a “shitshow”.

Australia will face an extraordinarily tough opposition in the United States in their final pool match at Marseilles Stadium at 3am AEST on Thursday. The Matildas have notched up one win in 33 games against the Americans.

It was the USA who smashed the Matildas’ hopes of a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
The team hasn’t won silverware in 14 years and they had publicly hoped the Paris Olympics would see this drought would be broken. The Olympic medal dream is still alive – but it’s going to take a mighty effort from the side.
Several sources have described the team as being a “mess” on the field and it is understood the women have endured “disorganised direction” from the coach.

Gustavsson, a charismatic and energetic character, has at times also contradicted himself off the field. On the eve of Australia beginning their Olympic campaign he described the team as “ready to go”, yet after the 0-3 loss to Germany he said “we weren’t ready”.

He apologised to the Australian public for that horror loss.

The Matildas scraped by with a heart-stopping win against Zambia, who are ranked 64th in the world. Gustavsson exuberantly celebrated that 6-5 win on the sidelines.

As the Olympics rolls on, the question is again being asked if Gustavsson is, or was, the right man for the job – and whether “his heart” is in it.

Olympics: Fox Sports news cross live to Luke Doherty who breaks down all the Australian overnight action from the Olympics.
After the World Cup last year he was heavily linked to the USA job – which ultimately went to ­former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes – and also to a job in ­Sweden.

Swedish outlet Sportsbladet ­reported in November that ­Gustavsson had met with the Swedish Football Association and was one of three candidates. The job didn’t go to Gustavsson.

He has repeatedly refused to discuss his future here. Scrutiny on Gustavsson’s coaching is nothing new. Several times during his ­tenure there have been strong rumblings about Gustavsson and whether he is the best coach for the Matildas.

In November 2022, the ­Matildas had a dire record of 13 losses in 26 games, with just eight wins, on this watch.

Back in July 2023, there were statements by the likes of former Socceroo Robbie Slater – citing Gustavsson’s odd selection choices and management of Sam Kerr’s injury – that if the team did not get through the knockout rounds of the World Cup then he must go.

Despite the doubts about Gustavsson’s approach, the players rolled on but often looked to their captain, Kerr, for sound advice during the tournament.

Kerr, who had a calf injury and sat on the bench, often took on an unofficial role of captain/coach and many say it was she who “drove” the Matildas to fourth place in the World Cup.

She actively mentored those who needed it and was there on the bench giving guidance when there was none coming from elsewhere.
Her absence is being felt in France.

Kerr has not been invited into Australia’s Olympic camp, and her relationship with Football Australia is at an all-time low. It is obvious her talents have been missed on the field.

When the Matildas step onto the field at Marseilles Stadium, if the night doesn’t go their way, and they lose badly, it could be Gustavsson’s last dance.

After these Olympics, the results will reveal whether Football Australia did the right thing by keeping Gustavsson for these Games.

Thanks Muz.

"After these Olympics, the results will reveal whether Football Australia did the right thing by keeping Gustavsson for these Games" - sort of sums it up for me.

If you have to wait to see how we go after these Olympics to judge Gustavsson, after watching us deteriorate consistently under him, then you have no idea. Makes those determining his effectiveness look like stupid white bastards really...

Look I expect the FA pre WWC thought all too late to change anyway and post with the Paris coming.
They went the better the devil you know route imo.
What really compounded things was Kerr's WWC management by him but it paid off finmishing where they got BUT post it came crashing with her ACL.
She really is the leading light and I'd say their relationship was strained long ago.
Fancy her not being in Paris to support her fellow Matildas, now that says alot what is lying beneath not just with her but those in the squad who have their little groups just like school play ground behaviour.
Hope it all comes out post Paris for thats pretty soon, USA surely is gonna do us.

Looks like a pre-emptive hit job on the coach to make up for their own amateurism & entitlement. 

Sounds familiar.

To be fair - the coach has been lacking.

At least this time the talk of the performance on the coach is directly related to the on-field performance, and not otherwise.

Thank Christ Football Australia takes no notice of the Murdoch press, forum posters or the likes of Robbie Slater.

GO THE MATILDAS ❤️😀👍

yer that went well.

What I posted is as relevant as ever.😀👍

:hehe::D

Football Australia and Tony Gustavsson have mutually parted ways following the Matildas’ Olympics exit 👉 bit.ly/4cgvpqg

That's a start. Now for players to have a good hard look at themselves and some to finally pull the plug. 

Text of article below. Who knows how much of it is true.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/olympics/four-years-of-hell-inside-the-matildas-dramas-as-tony-gustavsson-departs-after-olympic-debacle/news-story/6eff20d28e5437c1ae3d7690c6680d5e?amp&nk=725f4ca667bbbaff0d634c54b48c4830-1722511081


‘Four years of hell’: inside the Matildas’ dramas as Tony Gustavsson departs after Olympic debacle

In his final days as coach, the publicly charming Tony Gustavsson was folding behind closed doors. After being bundled out of the Olympics, ‘devastated’ players couldn’t pack their bags fast enough.

Jessica Halloran and John Stensholt

For some Matildas players it was the culmination of “four years of hell”. The depth of the chaos the team has been dealing with came to the fore in France this week when they turned out their worst Olympic performance in more than two decades.

The Australian understands some players were puzzled by coach Tony Gustavsson’s tactics during the Olympics campaign and other major tournaments, including their glorious run in the World Cup. It can be revealed that Gustavsson lost the dressing room some time ago; sources close to the players say his chaotic tactics were constantly tipping players over the edge in France.

“It was disorganised chaos,” they said. Several players have described it privately as “four years of hell”.

Except the heat is also on the players. Football Australia has announced there will be a “thorough” review of the Olympic disaster.

“As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we will conduct a thorough review of the campaign,” chief James Johnson said.

“This review will identify areas for improvement and ensure we are well-prepared for future challenges. The process for the recruitment of the Matildas head coach will also commence ­immediately.”

The Australian understands that the review will focus on high performance, including the fitness and conditioning of players.

From the first match, the Matildas were out-muscled and didn’t have the speed to beat football powerhouse Germany and were taken down 3-0.

Before this Olympic campaign had even started, there had been internal scrutiny on the Matildas’ social media posts during their break in Europe – before they hit an almost four-week training camp in Marbella, Spain.

The Matildas are the jewel in the FA crown, the reason why the code is on the cusp of signing a $200m four-year TV deal.
They were afforded a well-funded campaign, including a charter plane, luxury accommodation and 23 contracted staff for 22 players.

On Thursday morning inside camp, players were naturally “devastated” and also “angry”. Some couldn’t pack their bags fast enough to get out of an environment that has brought only disappointment.

Gustavsson in his final days as Matildas coach was being paranoid about leaks against him to the press and raised the issues with officials. The publicly charming and charismatic coach was folding behind closed doors under pressure.

The coach, who didn’t reside permanently in Australia during his tenure, didn’t publicly speak about his departure and made a quiet exit from Marseilles with just a statement. “It has been a great honour and privilege to have been able to be the head coach of the Matildas over the past four years. This journey with the team has had many incredible moments and memories that I will forever treasure.

“Thank you to the incredible players for letting me play a small part in their stories, my staff for being beside me every step of the way, Football Australia for backing our vision for this team, the Australian football family for embracing me and the Australian public for the tremendous support.”

He finished with 30 wins from 59 matches. “It was four years with a taxi driver in the seat of a formula one racer,” said one high ranking football official.

The Matildas conceded 10 goals over three matches in the group stage against Germany, Zambia and finally the US.
Less than 10 hours after the final Olympic loss to the US, it was announced Gustavsson had his contract ended.

But the cracks – if you scratched beneath the surface of “Matildas mania” – were visible. At times during the last World Cup, players would just simply not take notice of what Gustavsson was saying to them.

Those around the Australian side will tell you that the World Cup was a “strong team effort” guided by Sam Kerr’s leadership that steered them there.

Effectively Gustavsson had two excellent games at the World Cup with wins against Denmark and Canada and then the extraordinary penalty shootout win against France.

Football Australia did not want to part with him after the World Cup and pay out the remaining year of his contract.

While he guided the team to the semi-final, and his motivational skills have been prominent – witness his scarf-wearing moves at the start of each World Cup match, for instance – he has never convinced with his tactical acumen.

hope its the coach thats the problem since stajic also got forced out. 

However, since gustav had a worse record than staj iirc then this seems more justified

conceded 10 goals in 3 games is also a red flag....