Australia vs. Canada
Australia’s Waltzing Matildas have booked passage to the 2023 Women’s World Cup Round-of-16 via a 4-0 thrashing of Canada on Monday evening in Melbourne. The result enabled the tournament co-hosts to top their Group. Nigeria, the nation that defeated the Aussies during the second group stage fixture last Thursday, are also through as the Group B runners-up.
The Africans drew already eliminated Ireland in a concurrent kickoff. The loss eliminates the current reigning Olympic Champions, who have faltered in the group stage for the first time since the 2011 WWC.
Tactical Analysis: Australia
All of the suppressed laudatory talk about Tony Gustavsson’s tactical acumen from the previous piece can now come out. The Matilda’s are through thanks in part to their “ringer”. How does one steer this team through a difficult group stage without Sam Kerr? By employing three separate, well-tailored constellations. The Aussie gaffer gleaned the proper lessons his 4-4-2 in Round One and his 5-2-3 in Round Two. Gustavsson correctly projected a Canadian 4-2-3-1 and set up an effective mirror.
One change from the previous XI saw the returning Mary Fowler displace Cortnee Vine. It’s doubtful that Vine’s absence was related to the head collision in the previous match as she did pass a concussion protocol-test on the pitch. Gustavsson opted to sacrifice one of his more dynamic attackers in the interest of more stability on direct marks. The basic off-the-ball press more closely resembled a 4-4-2 with Emily van Egmond keeping a line with Fowler. On the charge, however, van Egmond almost always tucked in underneath.
Lineup—Australia—Match Three (4-2-3-1)
Clear and simple positional assignments took full advantage of his superb fullbacks and hard-working midfielders. Caitlin Foord has essentially demonstrated that she’s fully capable of wreaking havoc in just about every attacking lane, meaning that Vine’s absence wasn’t especially relevant. Some initial concern about Fowler being the far-too-obvious focal point in attack manifested during the broken charge in the 4th. Less than five minutes later, Steph Catley confirmed that all would be well.
A high vertical to send Catley through. An exceptional cross in to Hayley Raso. A composed and elegant finish from one of the tournament’s best players. All went according to plan and the co-hosts were up 1-0 in the 9th. It took several replays for observers to see how the Canadian midfield, through ball-watching, kept Catley onside. The North Americans continued to look complacent as the Aussies circulated the ball around just as Gustavsson had clearly drawn it up on the tactics board.
Fowler’s 2-0 in the 34th would have been fully deserved. Ellie Carpenter, Foord, and van Egmond were all involved in the lead-up with clever and audacious touches. The fact that the goal was chalked off due to Carpenter’s heel being behind the line felt harsh. Luckily, we got a goal that would count before it was time to head into the tunnel. Raso slipped the 2-0 in off a corner in the 39th following more confusion and ball-watching. Attempts by the Canadians to work their way back through the Aussie middle proved futile. Katrina Gorry was again fantastic in a different role.
There honestly remains little else to discuss. The guests came nowhere close to regaining some semblance of a grip. Raso narrowly missed a hat-trick in the 51st. Catley and Foord worked exceptionally hard to get Fowler her properly-earned goal on the 3-0 in the 58th. Catley put a perfect bow on an incredible team performance with her 4-0 from the spot at 90+4. Skillfully staggered subs from Gustavsson ensured that three of his best players – Raso, van Egmond, and Gorry – all got a chance to receive a round of applause from the crowd.
It couldn’t have been managed better.
Top Performers, Australia
1) Hayley Raso
One must believe in the power of the ribbon. Color-coordinated. Plus-five dexterity. The 28-year-old sports the most powerful accessory in all of women’s football; even more powerful than Alex Morgan’s trademark hair-band. Female football fans often find it odd that the likes of Rose Lavelle and Lieke Martens dominate the discussion over the most agile and graceful players in the sport. Raso has always been ever bit as gifted. Now she has a scorers’ brace to cap an already sensational tournament. Great to see both her and Foord finally getting the attention they deserve.
2) Steph Catley
The vice-captain showed no hesitation in taking this game by the scruff of the neck from the very start. She engineered the first and (with some assistance from Foord) set up the third. Pure poetic perfection to watch her score her second tournament goal from the spot at the end. No one shall forget how she picked this Kerr-less side up and carried them on her shoulders through the group phase. A captain in every sense of the word on the pitch tonight. She’s done her bit to pull this team through.
3) Emily van Egmond
Whilst on the topic of how this team topped the group without Kerr, it’s worth noting that this veteran also stepped up. The 30-year-old didn’t get her name on the score-sheet and accrued only 24 touches, it was an absolute pleasure to watch her moving around adroitly to draw coverage tonight. She worked hard. Van Egmond has long enjoyed massive respect in female footballing circles for her work ethic. Much like her fellow Aussie legend Lisa de Vanna, van Egmond has often represented three or four professional clubs per year just to keep playing football year-round.
She’s just too awesome for words.
Tactical Analysis: Canada
Rather odd to see Bev Priestman line the team up in precisely the same 4-2-3-1 that proved so ineffective during the first-half against Ireland. It seemed as if the manager had stumbled upon a much more effective constellation in the second half. Priestman also allowed Kadeisha Buchanan to return to the XI despite her weaker first-half in the previous match. Nothing wrong with forgiveness, but one must accept the risk that it can back-fire.
Lineup—Canada—Match Three (4-2-3-1)
The Canucks were able to get some action rolling on Adriana Leon’s side. Additionally, a lot of the set-piece designs in the first-half had a clever feel to them. Apart from that, it proved very difficult for this XI to find any rhythm. In just about every positional battle they were severely overmatched. After going with a triple substitution against at the Ireland last round, the Canadian head-coach sent four new actors onto the pitch this time.
Deanne Rose, Sophie Schmidt, Cloé Lacasse, and Allysha Chapman relieved Christine Sinclair, Jordyn Huitema, Julia Grosso, and Jayde Riviere. Just like in the previous match, Quinn was tasked with running the midfield alone. Exactly as was the case in the opener, Ashley Lawrence switched over to the right fullback role. Priestman went all-in with a 4-1-4-1.
Lineup—Canada—46th minute (4-1-4-1)
It collapsed almost immediately and it isn’t difficult to understand why. The confident manner in which the Aussie back-line were hitting the forwards with long balls meant that upfield telegraphs could be lobbed past this all-too-easily. Spacial gaps ahead of the fourth and fifth axes were badly exacerbated. One could tell that this carried red flags almost as soon as it crystallized.
Top Performers, Canada
1) Jessie Fleming
One of the team’s marquee players turned in a performance that had its moments. She helped bring some order to the approach play during a phase between the 20th and 30th during which Canada appeared a bit more secure on the ball and confident. Fleming also did well with the majority of her set-piece deliveries and turned a clever flick in the box during the first-half. Yes, there was the stomp on Gorry’s foot that led to the late penalty. One can at least say that she remained invested in the match and didn’t give up
2) Deanne Rose
The most effective of Priestman’s subs forced a fine save out of Aussie keeper Mackenzie Arnold. The Reading attacker also kept trying irrespective of the scoreline. Her work on the some of the ground duels later and the fact that she remained present in jostling for position in the air was also appreciated. Rose’s fellow sub Lacasse also wasn’t bad, but the 24-year-old seemed a tick more engaged in some of the forward pushes.