The Matildas are two games away from the Paris Olympics and have another shot at a gold medal, but they face a relatively unknown quantity in Uzbekistan who presents a “different challenge” to Tony Gustavsson.
The highly excited Australians will face the team ranked 47th in the world in two legs, on Saturday in Tashkent and next week at the sold-out Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, in the final qualifying play-off that will determine their Olympic fate.
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If they claim victory on aggregate, they will stamp their ticket to Paris as one of 12 teams vying for medals in France in July, giving themselves the chance of a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Games. When they lose, their Olympic dreams will be over for another four years.
Having enjoyed great success at last year’s Women’s World Cup and boasting a squad full of players plying their trade in the world’s top leagues, the 12th-placed Matildas understandably enter the tie as heavy favourites. But Australia know they underestimated their opponents to their peril.
The two sides have only met once before; It also happened in the 2007 Olympic qualifiers, where the Matildas won 10-0 in 2007, but a similarly lopsided result is unlikely to be repeated.
Uzbekistan reached this stage of the qualification process based on merit; upset Vietnam, who had beaten them 7-0 at the Asian Games a few weeks ago, and beat India en route to being second best in their three qualifying groups. Only Japan managed to beat them 2-0 at Bunyodkor Stadium, which will host the Matildas on Saturday.
Defensive solidity and a willingness to sit back and absorb the pressure have served the Uzbeks well in their journey so far and the Matildas expect similar tactics to be implemented over the next week. Much of the talk in the build-up centered on the need for Gustavsson’s attacks to remain patient and not get frustrated when facing a solid defensive block.
“[The key] “It’s about staying open,” goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold said. “In these types of games, it’s a little easier to lose concentration if you don’t have much control of the ball, especially the goalkeeper. We have to make sure we stay in the game, move with the ball, communicate with each other.
“You never know what can happen in these games, especially against a team we haven’t played before. “We are confident about this, but we focus on ourselves.”
Experienced defender Clare Polkinghorne – the only player in the current squad with experience of playing against Uzbekistan after featuring in the second half of the 2007 qualifiers – said unfamiliarity with the opposition could be used to the Matildas’ advantage.
“Coaches will observe their teams and give us important information, but this gives us a good opportunity to focus on ourselves and what we need to do to be successful in these games,” Polkinghorne said.
“Sometimes that’s positive, you can just focus on your processes and how you want to play as a group to get the best result. “Obviously it’s a team we don’t know much about, but there’s no doubt our coaches will prepare us well.
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“The important thing is to start well, start with energy and hopefully we will have more possession of the ball. Sometimes these types of games can be a bit frustrating. But now we have a few tools we can use to break down the opposition. It’s very important for us to stay positive, stay calm and stick to our processes and game plan.” important.”
The Matildas have been dealt a double blow in the build-up to captain Sam Kerr, who is recovering from tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, and batting winger Cortnee Vine, who left the squad last week for personal reasons.
Senior Michelle Heyman was brought into the squad previously to provide another option, but Gustavsson had previously gotten over losing Kerr and Polkinghorne said he was confident there were enough attacking alternatives in the current squad to ensure the talismanic striker would not be missed.
“You can’t replace Sam Kerr,” Polkinghorne said. “He is the leader of our group on and off the field and a really important part of this team. It will be a big loss for us but we have seen in the World Cup that we have a lot of different options available to us and then a number of new and old players coming through. There are many players who can step up. and fill that role.