that was the craziest match I've ever seen....If we fix our defence we are in the box seat

those whoa are good at coaching defence, what is going wrong?

for me it looks like too much space between the lines and not enough prep on set pieces

France win or draw and we make the 1/4s, Canada win and our chances are slim, even with a -6 start.

don't we need to hope zambia don't beat germany and relegate us to 4th?

Yes but very unlikely with the goal difference aswell.
Matildas hopefully don’t get slaughtered by the u.s. and Zambia doesnt edge Germany.

Even if we make the next round, we would be silly to ignore the regression of this team. 

Gustavsson is not taking us forward. Relying too much on players who have had there chance and are past it, and the use of tactics that do not get the best out of this team. The other nations are not waiting around to improve, we should be doing the same. Yes Banda is a quality player, but we should be dominating a side like Zambia. 

We cannot allow what happened to the Soccerroos to happen to the Matildas. 

https://www.9now.com.au/football-olympic-games-paris-2024/season-2024/episode-28

I was expecting weird but that was some of the most ridiculous play I've ever seen. Some of the goals....

Dammit. Canada beat France.

To score 4 unanswered goals to win from 5-2 down is quite incredible but on the flip side to concede 5 goals in the first place especially against a low ranked team is quite concerning if they want to win a medal at this tournament.

Great to win but plenty of question marks. 

Gustavsson the Holger of women's football?

Can I ask why it's specifically the manager and not the team getting the blame? 

The problem is the lack of accountability of these teams, for example when the Olyroos crashed out of the u23 championship in the group stages not a single peep about it.

I think the FA have been lucky the national teams have been getting the rub of the green in terms of results, it could go so easily the other way and if you don’t have the highest standards you can’t afford to hide from public scrutiny.

Montemurro was in Australia for the A League Womens game vs Arsenal. We should have thrown the kitchen sink at him then.

An opportunity lost.

Good to see you back Zimbo.

By the way can the sheila commentator who keeps saying 'that is world class' just fucking stop.

Of course it's 'world class', it's an international fucking match FFS. What else would it be?

Yes thank Christ.... :(

1/ Van Egmond and Gorry, with Polkinghorne on the bench.
2/ Van Egmond as striker
3/ Heyman on the bench

We played with a stupid line-up until they had 5 - most especially with Van Egmond, who struggles to be useful in midfield, playing upfront and a known and proven striker sitting on the bench.

We should have had Heyman, Foord and Raso across the front from the start, but once again the coach takes Raso off when he brings on Heyman - resulting in a much reduced attack to feed Heyman.

Gorry is a battler still, but her passing accuracy is poor and has been for several games now. We can't afford someone to give the ball away so often in her position.

And we had Gorry as our most attacking player several times in the box receiving high balls. Van Egmond should have been there but she is too slow and incapable.

How much the game turned when we had Wheeler, Heyman and Torpey. How much better if we had Wheeler, Heyman and Raso from the start and if they had been playing together all these lead up games.

Our coach is deadset killing the Matildas progression with his lazy and useless choices and his continual deference to players who have passed their prime but want to keep playing.

Same old players. Same old play.

How much clearer does Gustavsson have to have it to see that Van Egmond is depriving us of one player most of the time and an outright liability the rest of the time. Why bring Heyman in on the strength of her current Aleagues scoring form then put a very poor midfielder in the strikers role against a team that is known for its ability to score when we have to score goals to stay ahead?

Foord can do great things, but it always comes with a lot of wasted opportunities. She gave Torpey a serve when Torpey did not square the ball to her near the end but she butchered several 1 on 1s with the keeper herself and she ignored other players in better positions to shoot just as often. Tunnel vision most of the time which can be balanced out when she runs with the ball and creates in tight spaces like she can. She belongs in the team wide with a true striker inside her.

Cooney-Cross is quality and has such an experienced head on her shoulders.

Fowler has gone missing the last couple of games. Is it her private life, her club football or something else? She was always a bit hit and miss but on balance developing well and always a positive overall - but she has been almost meaningless the last couple of games.

Hunt and Kennedy both do alright with moments each that scare the pants off me.

Mackenzie-Arnold is showing why she was second to Williams. Hopefully that improves with more time in the first position.

Carpenter continues to have the touch and vision of a brick but I like her in the team. She played better against Zambia than she did against Germany and you just can't do anything about blinding pace in an opponent when the circumstances favour the speedster in a game.

The change in every aspect of our game when Torpey, Wheeler and Heyman came on was brilliant. It was not a tactical masterstroke - it was an hour too late - with Wheeler and Torpey for Gorry and Van Egmond. Torpey is played very well as a substitute. She will continue to improve with team exposure but is not ready to be the starter over Raso.

I do not think our play for their first 5 goals was worth any more consideration than to write it off as a dickhead coach playing favourites again at the expense of both our current and future chances.

There seemed to be a few Zambian players who may or may not have been born female based entirely on looks and physique.

Fair enough. I'm not sure who's banging down the door to replace gorry, eve.etc. 

If we play a front three Ford Heyman raso 

Do you have Fowler as a 9? Because that would make sense then we need to strength the defence 

as much as I admire Fowlers ability she is soft, when a player goes MIA they are intimidated imo.
She isn't a 9 MCG, she preserves her body doesn't put it on the line enough for that position.
Glad to see Heyman putting in, she's a goer always has been.
Not a bad summary RIMB, I agree re Carpenter, she is good having her in the team providing the effort and passioin but man, her errors is frustrating viewing.

The Zambian keeper was the most creative player for Australia.

Canadas win makes it tough for us, Also Japan scoring twice in stoppage time to beat Brazil. No draws yet in the whole tournament is pretty crazy. USA obliterated Germany, who looked classes above us, has to be a worry. 

Now at the last Olympics USA and Australia both needed a draw to qualify and neither team tried to score the last 20 and just played out a 0-0. The USA copt a lot of criticism for that and turning the game into a Simpsons meme. I doubt they settle for a draw again, even though it wins them the group. Hopefully Colombia get something against Canada. 

I assume if we win or draw and finish 3rd, we will have to play Spain, they will be the highest point getter from the other 2 groups. 

So the US thumped Germany 4-1.

Edit: Sorry Banzai. Just saw your post.

Yeah they have finally transitioned away from their older players and their front 3 of Smith, Swanson and Rodman are looking very good. No idea how our defence is handling that.

Not that it makes any difference BUT if we're commenting on looks, EVE has a squarer jaw than me. She'd give Nathan Clearly a run for his money.

Didn't Canada get deducted 6 points though? How are they still in contention?

They've won both games, somehow beat France in a huge upset, so they are back to 0 points. If they win last game, they will end 3rd, on 3 points with a strong goal difference. It covers off us, if we lose. 

Ah right. Thanks.

https://sport.optus.com.au/news/matildas/os77740/matildas-paris-2024-olympic-permutations

I think Fowler is more influential when she plays in the 9 and less likely to disappear there. Her hit and miss is less critical for us there because we have a full defence behind her when things go wrong but when she gets it right we benefit hugely with opportunities.

I think Wheeler can grow into a Gorry replacement simply by playing in the team. She keeps her wits about her, uses her vision and voice and is not afraid to get in with or without the ball. Her passing accuracy is better and maybe she can develop into the bulldog role that Gorry so critically performs for us.

Van Egmond just has not been bringing anything to the team for ages so replacing her is not a consideration as such - any decent player is better than a replacement for her. She is tall and happy to mix it with opponents - that is her super power but it is not one she holds exclusive rights to or that we need her to provide.

No-one is necessarily banging down the door but I see a lot of that because Gustavsson plays a very specific system with those favoured players. The team can be much better if they build around a different skillset rather than playing the one stale system with aging legs and trying to force other players into that individual mould. Van Egmond is being played like Mitch Duke but without any pace; making it a complete waste of a player.