SYDNEY — Australia win the national cup with their 3-2 win via Spain brought Matildas the silver trophy after a three-goal first half for co-hosts of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup before a late rally from la roja.
Cortnee vineOpener’s score is a stunner. Hayley RasoVine goes over the top of the box, who has a sweet header to the left of the keeper Misa Rodríguez dive but can’t stop it.
Clare Polkinghorne continued to shine as a striker as she added a second goal to the scoreboard and a 16th goal to her own international roster. Sam Kerr could only make a round header after Raso’s pass but Polkinghorne was in the right place — aided by a good pass — to finish from a tight angle.
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Caitlin FoodedWhen she returned to the starting line-up, she took a three-way lead by overtaking the Spanish defenders to head home from one. Steph Catley piece set – one of the Matildas’ most valuable offensive weapons.
The away team dominated the second half, creating each attack, clearly building some success. Some of their best opportunities come from situations like Alba Redondo, Esther Gonzalez And Olga Carmona with Mackenzie Arnold being called upon to make some super savings. But the Australian goalkeeper was unable to stop Olga’s shot in the 74th minute.
Redondo made it 3-2 in the 90th minute with a close-range finish that made things interesting but Australia did enough to claim a sixth straight win.
rapid response
1. Pressing and passing
Before the match, Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson called the match a battle of pressing and passing. Spanish football is known globally for its beautiful passing movements and fluid football — regardless of gender or age. The Matildas have always been a team praised for their physicality, which has translated into elite pressing play.
The question for Australia became the best way to approach the problem presented by Spain. They could have been more organized defensively, using a more traditional number 6 to clear up the mess while still applying a full-team pressing. But Gustavsson spoke throughout his tenure about this Matildas faction’s offensive DNA. Taking even a step back seems to contradict what the Swedes have been preaching for two years now.
Instead, the Matildas adopted the 4-4-2 formation that had brought them so much joy in the second half of last year, allowing Kerr and Foord to squeeze the central defenders into the middle, with Kyra Cooney-Cross And I’m sorry Katrina behind them and Vine and Raso widen with Catley and sponsor Charli in their respective full-back positions.
While the school-wide press from Matildas offered one option against Spain, it offered another at the same time. Matildas often hunt in packs in the center of the park when they’re pressurized – if one pokes the toe of his shoe to get the ball off the other, the other will be there to run away with the ball loose. This happened many times, and then a direct pass could be given to any of Kerr, Foord, Raso, or Vine.
Due to being so heavy, Matildas is never short of options to exploit these transitional moments. While Gustavsson praised this element of his team’s attack, he was also pleased with the change in their overall attack from coordinated play to set pieces.
While the team admitted to having dropped out of the press in the second half, they now have another 45 minutes of proof of their ability.
2. Mackenzie Arnold’s Redemption
To be fair, the first time the two sides met, in June of last year, neither one in yellow and green had a particularly fun day. Spain beat Australia seven times in the team’s second-worst loss of all time. Yes, Matildas has allowed some players to miss opportunities, given them a break and allowed others a taste of international football, but it is little consolation for those who have. out on the pitch, like Mackenzie Arnold.
After Matildas held out for the first half with no goals scored or conceded, Arnold was brought on in the second half. That’s when Spain asserted their dominance, pounding goal after goal. While correlation doesn’t equal causation, Arnold has struggled to regain the glove at the international level. Her form became confused; she is vital and very reliable for West Ham but can’t seem to replicate that form for Matildas.
The match against the Czech Republic saw her first game for the national team in 391 days and her first appearance since that loss to Spain. She has been in good form at club level. This time, for Australia, she served and assisted again against Spain.
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She’s there to shoot from close range, with excellent footwork, and while Matildas still conceded two goals, Arnold has proven she can literally turn any corner. ball she needs. Gustavsson was delighted for her.
“I’m extremely happy for Macca as she has brought back the club form and again, this is not something we did,” he said after the game. “That’s what she did at the club and she made it into the national team and she’s had in the past, here’s her own words, perhaps can’t carry the achievement of the sentence. club into the national team environment. This camp, she’s had. I think she’s matured mentally and physically to be able to deliver that.”
her teammates Emily van Egmond Call her player of the match, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better candidate.
3. Acting less than 90 minutes is… good?
It seems counter-intuitive to say that the Matildas not doing the 90-minute shift five months after the World Cup is actually exactly what they should be doing. But both Gustavsson and his team have repeatedly stated that the Cup of Nations is an exercise for the World Cup.
The problem with running practices is that they don’t have to be perfect. And this match against Spain, while confident and exciting from a fan’s perspective, is far from perfect. The team has very little time together and even less time to practice in-game situations.
With a 3-0 lead in the first half, instead of sitting back or holding the accelerator, the team changed their formation. Several substitutions were made with Gustavsson pointing out that they had switched to a more flexible five-man in defence, with three defenders in attack in the second half.
Making the most of these opportunities while building player and fan confidence and honing what will need to happen in July is a tough balancing act, but at least tonight. , Matildas seems to have ticked all three boxes.
“I think we got on the pitch, started really well, with the front foot, but at the end of the day this is preparation for the World Cup.” Captain Kerr said after the game.
“So we wanted to try things differently and as a result against this team, the team has had some really great results over the last six, seven months, they beat the USA, they drew with Sweden. So we’re really proud of ourselves. Obviously want to end the game a little bit stronger. But now is the time to, like I said, prepare for the World Cup to try anything.”
Best and worst performers
THE BEST
Hayley Raso: Winger Matildas assisted her superb performance against the Czech Republic with a particularly superb first half against Spain
Mackenzie Arnold: The West Ham goalkeeper has contributed greatly to Matildas when he saved at least 3 almost certain Spanish goals.
Olga Carmona: The Real Madrid man was particularly brilliant in attack and scored a stunning goal to put Spain ahead in the second half.
THE WORST
Larissa Crummer: She’s the replacement for Matildas, who gets to spend the most time in the park but in fact she was nearsighted during her 32 minutes of guest appearances.
Jenni Hermoso: With the exception of one shot on target, the player with the most caps for Spain has failed to display many of the plays that have made defenders around the globe tremble.
Ivana Andres: The left-back was frequently featured in the first half to the speed and slyness of both Vine and Raso.
Highlights and remarkable moments
Football Australia partnered with Sydney WorldPride 2023 earlier in the week and the Matildas proudly wore LGBTQIA+ Pride colored numbers on the back of their jerseys against Spain. This is the first time an Australian national football team has participated in the Pride initiative and it looks pretty good too.
We ️🌈 LOVE️ to watch it pic.twitter.com/W39zr1PaAz
– Marissa Lordanic (@marissalordanic) February 19, 2023
Vine is still a rookie in the Matildas block but she may have scored one of the best goals of her budding national team career. Poor spiders don’t stand a chance.
.@cortneev9: soccer player and web cleaner ️
What a start in Parramatta!
: @10FootballAU #AUSvESP #WeAreMatildas #CupOfNations pic.twitter.com/QkylCnCKC8
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) February 19, 2023
After the game: What did the coach, the player say?
Kerr on Foord’s goal: “Actually, her goal was, she was going to stop me and I told her not to stop me, you can go in and I should have gone by myself, because I could have scored. “
Talking about the performance: “It’s annoying to concede a goal but I mean at the end of the day you’re going to tell me we’re going to beat Spain 3-2, I’ll accept that.”
Kerr on the Pride number: “We have such an inclusive team — always have and probably always will be. So that’s something we’re really excited about.”
main statistics
– Matildas is currently on a six-match winning streak, extending from October 2022.
– For the first time in 51 matches, Spain conceded 3 goals in a match.
Next
Australia: With the win over Matildas, they won the Cup of Nations. They will be looking to end the tournament with a win over Jamaica.
Spain: While Spain’s loss was just a blip, they will be looking to end the Cup of Nations on a strong note against the Czech Republic.
