, emphasising how much the Matildas have been working on in-game management over the past two years, assessing the situation in front of them and deciding, together, what to do, especially when the pressure is mounting.
The purpose of this game, for the Matildas, was learning how to do so methodically; to assess the puzzle, test its edges and gaps, and find new ways to solve it for themselves. "One of the reasons we planned to play the Czech Republic is we've seen what they've done to top opposition before. We tried to look for an opposition that were […] physical, well-organised, difficult to break down.
The goals weren't "Hail Marys". They were varied, choreographed and designed in ways that responded to the conditions Czechia had created for them, exactly the kind of thing that the Matildas struggled to do this time last year.And the players weren't the only ones who showed the type of in-game management they've lacked in the past, either. Gustavsson and his coaching staff did, too.
"We had a coach meeting in the middle of the day and challenged ourselves and said: 'We have to treat this like the World Cup'," Gustavsson explained. "We have to make decisions like the World Cup. We need to train in-game management, read the game, make decisions. "If you think about it, it's 0-0 against [the] Czech Republic. It's a World Cup year. She hasn't played a minute. She goes in at half-time into a team that struggled in the first half, and she looked like she's done nothing but playing with us."
auspol Bread and circuses for the masses are well orchestrated by those at the top of the pyramid