Matildas Coach Promises Australian Fans That Sticking With Them Is "Worth It"
The Matildas’ Olympics campaign got off to a rocky start with a 3-0 loss to Germany, but head coach Tony Gustavsson is urging Australian fans to stick with the team.
The Matildas found themselves down 1-0 at halftime, but things went from bad to worse in the second half as they conceded two goals in quick succession. Captain Steph Catley admitted that the team didn’t perform to their standards, but believes they can turn it around quickly.
"We’ve got two more games and we’ve got to turn it around quickly," Catley said. "We’ve got a lot to learn from here. I think at times we were on top and we let two set pieces affect the game in a very negative way."
Gustavsson apologized to Australian fans who had to wake up at 3am to watch the match, but promised that it’s worth the early wake-up calls. "These players feel it and need it," he said. "What we need to do now is learn from this game, delete it as soon as possible. We have two days to prepare for Zambia and hopefully we can make more people back home proud after that game."
The Matildas will look to bounce back when they take on Zambia in their second group stage match on July 29 at 3am AEST. With two more games to go, Gustavsson is confident that his team can still make a deep run in the tournament.
"We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re not out of this tournament yet," he said. "We’ve got to take it one game at a time and make sure we’re prepared for each and every opponent."
Follow us on all social media platforms for more updates