Gustavsson: I’m very proud of the player’s maturity tonight

Player of the Match Caitlin Foord, as well as head coach Tony Gustavsson, were made available to media after the Matildas defeated Denmark 2-0 to advance to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ quarter-finals.

Caitlin Foord was up first. The goalscorer said that the overwhelming feeling was one of relief to get the job done and move on to the next game against France or Morocco on Saturday.

“The whole country is behind us and we do feel it and we do see it,” she said.

With full stadiums comes expectations and pressure, but Foord said that the team was confident enough to not feel the weight.

“You feel pressure when you’re not prepared, and we feel prepared. We feel like we’re ready for every scenario,” she explained.

“We’re just enjoying our performances and building on that.”

She was asked about captain, long-time teammate and friend Sam Kerr after Kerr made her first appearance at the tournament.

“Sam was obviously ready to get some minutes and it was a massive boost for us to have her back, not only for us but for her as well,” Foord answered. “This dream was for her as well.”

“For teams ahead, it’s pretty scary to know that she’s now back in the team.”

It was Tony Gustavsson's turn next. The coach began his press conference by evaluating the team’s performance as a whole.

“First of all, I’m very proud of the player’s maturity tonight,” he began.

“Denmark came out and surprised us. 4-4-2, high press, did not shy away from the occasion. We knew that Harder was going to be hard to deal with in the space between the midfield and the back-line and I think we struggled the first 15 minutes.

“But in tournament football, I’ve said it before, you need to play the game right in front of you and find ways to win. The maturity the players showed tonight, I’m very, very proud of.”

An injury to Steph Catley – that she was thankfully able to shake off – midway through the first half proved the catalyst for the coaching staff being able to communicate tactical tweaks to the team that helped turn the game in the Matildas favour.

Mary Fowler was key to these changes. It was her turn on the ball and perfectly weighted pass to Foord that led to the first goal, and she was heavily involved in the second. Gustavsson described her as “world-class.”

“Denmark was good enough to force us into a lower block today, and you need to get out and solve that initial pressure,” the coach explained.

“We do that by activating Mary [Fowler] as a linking player who can cause damage on the break. She’s the key to that.”

This win feels like a far cry from the challenges that have faced the Matildas throughout the tournament. The Swede referenced getting “one day better” as the mantra for both he and the team throughout the global finals in order to help them through those setbacks.

One of those challenges of course have been the many injury concerns that the squad has faced. Sam Kerr played her first minutes of the tournament against Denmark after sustaining her now infamous calf injury. He credited the sports science and medicine team at the Matildas for their work in getting not only her back on the park, but others as well.

He cited Alanna Kennedy, Emily van Egmond and Mary Fowler as examples of players who came into the World Cup short of a run, but thanks to the work of the backroom staff, have had vital contributions in the team’s success so far.

However, given the success of the team so far, it raises a question that was almost unthinkable three weeks ago – how does Sam Kerr fit back in?

“What has been good and important for this team… it started at some games when we played without Sam,” Gustavsson answered.

“I’ll give an example - we played 30 minutes against France without Sam in the send-off game. We managed to win 1-0 with Sam not on the park. I think that helped the team. I also think it helps Sam because what I think is important if a team should be successful, you can’t only rely on one player.

“I don’t say this out of disrespect for Sam because you guys know how much I love working with Sam and how much I say she’s the best forward in the world.

“Sam coming back now could be a good thing in the sense that we don’t need to look at her taking over and having everything on her shoulder. It’s a team effort and a team tournament.”

Looking ahead to the quarter-final, Gustavsson stressed that while they were satisfied with the performance, there would be a comprehensive review of the game as always.

“I think one thing we definitely need to get better at moving forward is our positioning and our defending shape, and also reading the pressing trigger better,” he explained.

“We didn’t generate as much press today like we normally do. We need to look into that. We did fix it during the game and it got much better, especially in the second half. But in terms of a 90-minute performance in a quarter-final, no matter who we play, we need to look into that and get back to where we were defending against France and England or Sweden and so forth.”

Finally, he cited the togetherness of the group as the key to helping them get through in tournament football that is often hectic and fast-paced.

“It’s a unique group,” he said.

“There’s a family sense there’s a tight circle and togetherness that is unique and I think that has strengthened even more.”