CommBank Matildas current captain Steph Catley and head coach Tony Gustavsson spoke to the media ahead of taking on Mexico on Tuesday morning (AEST).
Gustavsson explained that this camp was a massive opportunity to put in the hard work on the training ground, given that there was only one game in the window.
“The preparation this camp has been almost only about us, and trying things we think we need… [the game] will be a day when we’re going to try a lot of things and see where we’re at in that process,” he explained.
“We’re not just preparing to go out and win the game against Mexico, we’re going in there to use the game against Mexico to learn about ourselves, and where we are on this journey.”
His captain agreed, stating that it was helpful as players to be able to focus on training without having a second game to think about as well.
“It is unusual to get this kind of time to just train together, and to get things that we wouldn’t normally do – we get to do it a lot, and train a lot… it’s been really nice,” she said.
Playing Mexico, Gustavsson explained, will allow the CommBank Matildas to take the next step in what they have been working on since the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ - breaking the second and third lines, this time against a team that presses high and tests them in different ways.
“We’ve done it against low blocks [during AFC Olympic qualifying] and done it well, we tried it against Canada away and it cost us a lot of goals in the first game – it was better in the second – and now this is the next kind of opposition to try that,” he said.
“That I think is the main thing for the team – our game with the ball against a pressing team, what does that look like?”
Catley expanded that it is an added challenge to do so against a team that Australia has not played since 2011 - making Mexico a relatively unknown opponent - but that unknown was part of the learning process for the team, building towards the Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024.
This camp has seen a number of regular CommBank Matildas unavailable with injury including Katrina Gorry, Clare Hunt, Aivi Luik, Lydia Williams and Courtney Nevin. The unavailable list was compounded by injuries to recently recalled Chloe Logarzo and Emily Gielnik, and also newly capped Charlize Rule.
“I think it might be one of the most challenging camps going into in terms of players being unavailable for selection even going into camp,” Gustavsson reflected.
“We then tried to twist that and look at that as an opportunity instead, to say okay now we’ve got the chance to look at some other players, test our depth in the roster and also look at some players in different positions. Because come selection for an Olympic roster, you need to have cover in each position with only 16 outfield players.”
Gustavsson has used the more in-depth training time on this camp to test different players and combinations, more than is possible to do in one 90-minute match.
“When I make decisions and selections and such I base it as much on training content as I do in games,” he continued. “So it’s not just what we see against Mexico tomorrow, or what we saw against Canada or in the qualifiers that’s going to dictate selections, it’s also what players do in training environments.”
He used the various options at centre-back with Clare Hunt unavailable – that is, changing shape to a back three, moving a different player in the first-team into centre-back, or replacing her directly with a new player - as an example of how the squad will use the game to continue to experiment to build options with a view of the Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 in mind.
“Tomorrow is not just about picking the best team available to beat Mexico, it’s also to get answers, and we have to be brave enough to do that,” he said.
“I don’t know how many times over the last three and a half years I keep coming back to the process. I know you’re sick and tired of hearing that word, but we are in a process of preparation right now, and we need to have the bravery and the guts to test things tomorrow – and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Given the unavailability of a number of players, squad depth is something that has very much come into play in this window. Catley expressed that she is excited about where the team stands at the moment.
“There’s a lot to be excited about, about our team at the moment,” she said. “Most of our players are either playing overseas in big teams, in massive competitions, or doing really well in the A-League and coming into camp fresh and looking great technically, understanding things really quickly, tactically, and just settling into the environment great.”
“I’ve never seen this team look so comfortable and confident on the ball, playing through lines and figuring out different presses in different ways as well as they have recently. That’s what excites me the most – the way we’re playing, the type of football we’re playing.”
The Arsenal full-back finished the press conference by expressing her enthusiasm over the overall depth in the squad heading into Paris 2024.
“I think our squad is in a really, really good place right now,” she said. “I’m loving what I’m seeing so far.”
“I don’t envy Tony [Gustavsson]’s job picking the Olympics squad because it is a small squad, and we’ve got a massive array of players, so it’s exciting.”
MATCH DETAILS | APRIL 2024 FIFA WINDOW
Mexico v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 9 April 2024 (local) / Wed, 10 April 2024 (AUS)
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local) / 10.00am (AEST)
Venue: Toyota Field, San Antonio, TX
Broadcast: Paramount ANZ
Tickets: ticketmaster.com