Tillies Cruise to the Knock-Out Stages

The gritty and fearless Philippines side held the Matildas to 0-0 at half-time. Both teams had earned three points in their opening fixture, so this one promised to be a tantalising affair. The Philippines made clever breaks, stayed centrally compact, and looked like a team that had done their homework before stepping onto the pitch.
 
Australia, who had scored 18 in their previous game, had chances but were not clinical enough in the first half.

 

“What can happen in a game like this – when you create as many chances as we did in the first half and the stats say that we should be up 3 or 4 nil and we don’t get those goals – you can tend to lose your head,” Tony Gustavsson said post match.

 

“We talked about that at halftime and said stay focussed and keep doing what we are doing. Players went in with conviction and confidence in the second half”. 

 

Two goals from set pieces, one own goal and one goal from outside the area was the story of the second half. The goal from outside the area came as a result of some sharp link-up play by the youngsters on the team who had been subbed in during the match.

the future of #AUSWNT in one frame
📸 Pranit Katwal pic.twitter.com/lQyhHKieTP

— Radha🧣 (@radhalathgupta) January 27, 2022

“I am really happy how some things from the training ground in pre-camp have translated on the pitch – like we scored two goals from a corner, we are deadly on corners,” Head Coach Gustavsson said, emphasizing the importance that the Australian camp is giving to set pieces this tournament.

He was also asked about the intensity of the opponents and if it caught him off-guard.

“No, actually it didn’t surprise me because I watched their first game and was impressed by them. I showed some videos to the players so they understood what to expect too. They are organised almost like a club team, very synchronised – but also their fighting spirit. They didn’t shy away from a tackle and made it tough for us.”

As expected, no Australia match or press conference is complete without the mention of Samantha Kerr [who recently received the Order of Australia Medal for breaking the all-time goal-scoring record].

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here is what Gustavsson had to say about her:

“I’ve said it from day 1 that I am really appreciative that I can be a small part of Sam’s amazing career.”

“She is an amazing player, but more so an amazing captain and an amazing person. It’s a privilege to work with her every day. It’s not just me talking at halftime, it’s her as a captain as well. She is leading this team in such an impressive way that I am just thankful to get a chance to work with her.”

Can she lead Australia all the way to victory? They certainly have the ‘favourites’ tag on their shoulders now more than ever.