{"id":119947,"date":"2021-08-27T01:57:38","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T01:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=119947"},"modified":"2021-08-27T05:00:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T05:00:46","slug":"why-matildas-needed-olympic-heartbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=119947","title":{"rendered":"Why Matildas 'needed' Olympic heartbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"

It's official; Australia has a Matildas<\/a> obsession.<\/p>\n

With an average television audience of 1.87 million tuning in to watch their semi-final clash against Sweden at the Tokyo Games<\/a>, the team broke new ground, setting the record for the largest audience for a women's team sport in Australian TV history.<\/p>\n

It's not hard to see why.<\/p>\n

From humble beginnings, with the team first known as the 'Female Socceroos', through a boom period in the mid 2010s, the Matildas have revolutionised themselves into an institution of world football.<\/a><\/p>\n

Marked by a free-flowing attacking flair led by showtime spearhead Sam Kerr<\/a>, it's the Matildas' moreish brand of play that's increasingly making TV sets across the nation so hard to turn away from.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While they left Tokyo empty-handed<\/a>, a fourth-place finish went a long way in overcoming an unprecedented pre-tournament slump, and without question shook the monkey off Kerr's back in front of goal.<\/p>\n

It's put the Matildas firmly back in the ring for arguably their biggest test in the team's history \u2013 the 2023 Women's FIFA World Cup to be held in Australia.<\/a><\/p>\n

And if there's one point to first address, it must be a notable lapse in defensive nous that underpinned the Matildas' Olympic campaign.<\/p>\n

Trounced 4-2 by Sweden in a group stage run-over<\/a> and coughing up four goals to Team USA in the bronze medal play-off<\/a>, defence is an issue new coach Tony Gustavsson can't afford to ignore.<\/p>\n

And according to the Matildas' first-ever captain Julie Dolan, if the Matildas want to make a statement on home soil come 2023<\/a>, consistency at the back is part and parcel of the deal.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

"Having a look at the games in the Olympics, the girls have set a new benchmark that's not to be argued. But having said that, there were inconsistencies," Dolan told Wide World of Sports.<\/em><\/p>\n

"Defence was one of those areas that was pointed out. To compete in the top five, you have to be a lot more consistent.<\/p>\n

"Leading up to the World Cup, this is in our backyard. They're not going to waste an opportunity to work on these things and I think it's been a good opportunity to see where they need to pick up."<\/p>\n

From their past 11 games, the Matildas only managed two wins – a stat punters wouldn't readily attribute to Australia's women. But Dolan says it's a necessary period of soul-searching after years of meteoric improvement.<\/p>\n

"I think when we're consistently coming up against these highly ranked teams, the more we're going to see our game pulled apart, that's the reality of it," Dolan said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

"That's why the Matildas needed to go through this phase, to find out where they actually were and to go back, do their homework and get much better."<\/p>\n

Dolan was buoyed by the prospect of the Matildas' up-and-coming crop of talent. Teen winger Mary Fowler was an undoubted stand-out in Japan, as was striker Kyra Coonie-Cross.<\/p>\n

Nurturing their development into 2023 must be a top priority for Gustavsson and his staff, says Dolan.<\/p>\n

"It was a great opportunity to welcome Kyra Coonie-Cross and Mary Fowler to get on the park," she said.<\/p>\n

"This is the world stage, these are the top players in the world, so to compete well in that arena, says a lot about how far ahead they are with their games. Hopefully, there is more waiting in the wings that can just fit into those spots into the Matildas team."<\/p>\n

\"Lydia<\/p>\n

Underpinning the Matildas' next chapter is a new four-year, multi-million dollar major sponsorship deal struck with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.<\/p>\n

Dolan was optimistic over the opportunities for development that would bring, not just for the Matildas, but for women's football across Australia.<\/p>\n

"The Commonwealth Bank sponsorship is huge. In any major investment in sport, such as this, has significant consequences for the game," she said.<\/p>\n

"We'll see a lot more media events, a lot more input into the women's game itself, so that it will reach more places, more places and it gives everybody a chance to see what's coming up and to know what's on the stage."<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It's official; Australia has a Matildas obsession. With an average television audience of 1.87 million tuning in to watch their semi-final clash against Sweden at […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119947"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=119947"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119949,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119947\/revisions\/119949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=119947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=119947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=119947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}