Swede choice for Matildas

TONY Gustavsson has declared he’s the right coach to lead the Matildas to 2023 World Cup glory.

Gustavsson, a Swede who has twice tasted Women’s World Cup success as a US assistant coach, was yesterday announced as 14th coach of the Matildas.

“I feel that my 21 years of coaching have put me in the position to be ready for this,” Gustavsson said.

“I have always said that the Matildas have the potential to be one of the best teams in the world and that is one of the reasons that I wanted to get on board with this job.

“I have been in the pressure cook era lot of times and in environments that demand success. These experiences will be beneficial as we do this together with the fans, the stakeholders, the players, and the staff as at eam.”

Gustavsson replaces Ante Milicic, who left the Matildas job in July to honour his contract with A-League newcomers Macarthur FC.

The 47-year-old mentor, who is employed as first-team coach of Swedish Allsvenskan club Hammarby IF until the end of the year, edged out Italian Carolina Morace and Sam Kerr’s Chelsea coach Emma Hayes for the job.

“I am extremely proud and happy,” he said.

“It feels as if I have come to a moment where this is what I have been waiting for – to lead the Matildas for four years and also at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.”

During his 21-year coaching career, Gustavsson was an assistant coach of the US team that won the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, and the 2012 Olympics gold medal, led Tyreso FF to the Swedish women’ s title in 2012, and the same club to the 2014 UEFA Women’s Champions League final.

Football Federation Australia CEO James Johnson said Gustavsson’s “direct experience at major tournaments, and strong history of national and international success” would prove invaluable to the Matildas.

“Tony arrive sat the Matilda sand FFA boasting a wealth of experiences in the international game and a strong track record of success ,” he said.