Sermanni: We weren't able to nullify Brazil's threats
Interim Head Coach Tom Sermanni described the CommBank Matildas' performance against Brazil as “mixed” after the side was defeated 3-1 on Thursday evening.
He was speaking to the media in the aftermath of the match.
“Unfortunately, in the game, we weren’t able to nullify what their [Brazil’s] threats were,” he said.
“For the limited time we had together, we did a bit of work on it, but I just think their pace and their aggression were a little bit better than ours early in the game, and we got punished for it.
“We got ourselves back in the game and at 2-1 in the second half, I felt we were actually beginning to settle into the game. We had a very good chance and then made a mistake, and suddenly, you’re 3-1 down.
“The positives from tonight is that we started some players, and we put some players on who haven’t been in the squad or been given much time, and I think they added an extra injection of energy and threat from us.”
One of the noticeable features of the match was the stop-start nature and the physicality that Brazil brought.
Sermanni said that while he didn’t believe that the refereeing decided the outcome of the match, he wished that there had been more control over some of the duels that were occurring.
He reflected that he thought that the team handled the game state well.
“What often happens in that situation is that the team that are the perpetrators get away with stuff, and as soon as you do something yourself, you end up getting a yellow card or a red card,” he said.
“So I think our players did as well as they could. They showed their frustration to the referee, but they still, I thought, maintained the discipline within the game, and didn’t do anything reckless.
“It became very frustrating and did dictate how the game was played. We hope then that, obviously, that doesn’t happen in the second game.”
One of the players who came into the team was Winonah Heatley, who made her first international start in the game.
“She did admirably, to be perfectly honest,” Sermanni said.
“She’s mainly a centre-back, but we needed to have more of a physical strength in midfield, more of a defensive presence with the team that we had.
“Her work rate, the things that she broke down, and then the balls that she won, I thought she handled herself very, very well.”
The team played a back three formation in this game, with Steph Catley and Ellie Carpenter being given the freedom to roam forward as wing-backs.
They then switched to a back four in the second half in a formation that the CommBank Matildas are more familiar with playing.
Sermanni explained his reasoning for the change.
“I think we did look a little bit better when we went to a back four,” he said.
“One of the reasons we played a back three was because we were anticipating Brazil playing slightly differently, which they didn’t do.
“To be honest, because of the personnel we had on the field, it was hard to adjust that early on.
“I think the changes we made when we went to a back four and more of a 4-3-3, I thought that suited the personnel that we had on at that time, and I think we did come back into the game in the last 15/20 minutes.”
The game had a large amount of stoppage time, and the physical nature of the clash meant that the work rate of the players was very high.
Sermanni expects that there will be some rotation for the game against the same opponents on Sunday on the Gold Coast.
“What that is, I could not tell you right now, but we will freshen up the team a bit,” he said.
“We will make some changes, and then we’ll see how we go from there.”
CommBank Matildas v Brazil
Date: Sunday, 1 December 2024
Kick-off: 6:35pm local / 7:35pm AEDT
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Broadcast: 10, 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+
Tickets: matildas.com.au/tickets
CommBank Matildas v Chinese Taipei
Date: Wednesday, 4 December 2024
Kick-off: 8.00pm AEDT
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Broadcast: 10, 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+
Tickets: matildas.com.au/tickets
CommBank Matildas v Chinese Taipei
Date: Saturday, 7 December 2024
Kick-off: 7.30pm AEDT
Venue: GMHBA Stadium, Geelong
Broadcast: 10, 10 Bold, 10 Play and Paramount+
Tickets: matildas.com.au/tickets