Australia flexing its muscles to Cup semifials
Only one team — the United States in 1999 — has reached the Women’s World Cup finals as host country since the tournament began in 1991. Australia could have a chance to become the second after getting past France on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals in Brisbane Saturday.
The Matildas have rallied via strong defending, following a 3-2 defeat against Nigeria that left them on the brink of elimination in group play. Australia’s scoreless result against the French completed a third successive shutout and increased their streak to 318 consecutive shutout minutes.
France became the third European foe the Aussies have gone through, and they will be facing another when they meet England in Sydney Tuesday. Home support can be credited with fueling the Matildas, along with coach Tony Gustavsson’s tactical tweaks, and some confident penalty-kick conversions (7-6 win) against France.
Australia also has presented a physical match for the Europeans. There seems to be an increased emphasis on hard-charging play in this WWC, exemplified by the uncompromising style of Colombia and others, and referees have struggled with consistency in delineating hard fouls from reckless challenges.
The officiating crew had a difficult time in the Australia-France match. In the 85th minute, Chilean referee Maria Carvajal failed to issue a caution as Australia’s Hayley Raso bladed Sakina Karchaoui. Raso was clearly in an offside position, but play was allowed to continue, because of FIFA’s edict to linesmen to not immediately raise their flags. Karchaoui, the last defender, retreated into position to attempt a clearance, and went down as Raso made a desperate slide, her cleats going over the ball — a textbook violation worthy of a caution or red card.
Carvajal did not issue a yellow card until the 92nd minute, when Katrina Gorry fouled Karchaoui. A minute later, Australia’s Ellie Carpenter bodychecked Selma Bacha nearly into the signboards, and Carvajal apparently administered a verbal warning, something not covered in FIFA’s rules — a yellow card is a warning, period.
Yet, Les Bleues did not seem flustered by the rough treatment, hoping to capitalize on a set piece or two. Finally, that happened, an apparent own goal giving France the lead in the 10th minute of extra time. Carvajal, though, disallowed the goal, calling a foul on Wendie Renard. Replays did not seem to confirm Carvajal’s judgment, compounding an error that led to the sequence, as France probably should not have been awarded a corner kick because Vicki Bècho lost possession over the end line.
Whether referees are being lenient or just inconsistent regarding fouls, give Gustavsson credit for emphasizing tough tactics. Coaches are responsible for motivating teams but it is often difficult to know where to draw the line, and Gustavsson absorbed plenty of criticism early in the tournament. Leading scorer Sam Kerr was injured in an Aussie training session, then two more players sustained concussions during practice. Were the Matildas going at it too hard? Against Nigeria, the Aussies fell behind, 3-1, yet they did not make a substitution until the 82d minute. “What was Gustavsson thinking?” asked domestic media, including former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, now a television commentator.
That seemed to mark a turning point for Australia, which overpowered reigning Olympic champion Canada, 4-0, then defeated Denmark, 2-0.
In the men’s World Cup, host nations are expected to either win the tournament or, in the case of countries such as Japan/South Korea, Qatar, South Africa, and the United States, at least advance to elimination rounds. In the WWC, the presence of the United States has often dampened host countries’ hopes, though US dominance could be at an end.
The ninth edition of the WWC featured co-hosting with Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, soccer ranks behind rugby and is rivaled for popularity by Aussie Rules football. But the Aussies signaled their ambition by hiring Gustavsson, a two-time WWC winner as US assistant coach in 2015 and ‘19 with experience in the men’s game, as well — he was the first pro coach of former US national teamer and Revolution forward Charlie Davies at Hammarby IF. And the fact Gustavsson was subjected to media pressure early on in the WWC is a signal Australia is gaining soccer savvy.
Observations from the WWC quarterfinals:
England maintained its composure in rallying to edge Colombia, 2-1, Saturday. The Lionesses absorbed some hard hits, but continued to play a patient passing game. England equalized just before halftime, then concentrated on possession, moving the ball quickly in the second half, eventually breaking down the Colombian defense as Alex Greenwood and Georgia Stanway combined to set up Alessia Russo.
Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez surrendered the first goal to Lauren Hemp after failing to hold the ball just outside the goal area. Perez, who played for the New England Mutiny and at the University of Miami, where she was guided by Hingham High coach Mary-Frances Monroe, departed with an injury after the second goal. The Cafeteras also paid for a late offside flag, as defender Carolina Arias was injured in a collision with Perez in the 10th minute.
Veteran coaches such as Sweden’s Peter Gerhardsson recognize the importance of set pieces, and both Sweden goals were converted indirectly off dead ball situations in a 2-1 win over Japan. Sweden earned only three corner kicks, but one was enough to provide the lead; the Swedes’ other goal came off a free kick, one of seven.
Japan adopted a strategy based on not having possession. The Nadeshiko featured a skill-based game, but they seemed comfortable defending and waiting to counter. They blanked Spain, 4-0, despite having only 23 percent possession. The tactic originated with South Korea in the 2002 men’s World Cup, thanks to coach Guus Hiddink and assistant Afshin Ghotbi, the current Vancouver FC coach and an early proponent of analytics. Stats showed their team played better without the ball, for whatever reason, and they developed a game plan based on pressing in certain areas of the field to create offense.
Refereeing unpredictability turned out to be costly for the Netherlands, which played without Danielle van de Donk (suspended) in a 2-1 extra time loss to Spain. The United States lost Rose Lavelle, suspended for a penalty kicks loss to Sweden in the Round of 16, though other more egregious contact than Lavelle’s foul against Portugal has gone unpunished.
It took five games before Salma Paralluelo, 19, scored her first goal of the tournament for Spain against the Netherlands. US coach Vlatko Andonovski hoped the team’s younger players would produce as the tournament went along, and that might have happened had the team survived past the Round of 16. Other teenagers who have emerged in the elimination rounds include Colombia’s Linda Caicedo and defender Ana Guzman, both 18; France’s Becho, 19; and Japan’s Aoba Fujino, 19.