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Tony Gustavsson has been criticized
Matildas were defeated 5-0 by Canada
Andy Harper said he threw his players under the bus
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Andy Harper has criticized Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson following Australia’s “extraordinarily disappointing” 5-0 loss to Canada.
The former Newcastle United star questioned Gustavsson’s decision to field a weakened team on Saturday, with Mary Fowler, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord on the bench while Sam Kerr and Mackenzie Arnold were injured.
Gustavsson was duly punished for that decision and the Matildas succumbed to their heaviest defeat since a 7-0 loss to Spain in June 2022.
And Harper said the Matildas coach exposed his team when he didn’t have to.
“Well, something was accomplished: Somehow we managed to hang the girls out to dry in the pouring rain,” Harper said on Channel 10 after the game.
‘I don’t really know what could be done here with this (approach). I feel sorry for some of the people involved. It’s going to be a difficult few days until they have the opportunity to return to the training fields. We’ve been there, we know what it’s like to be put under that pressure and come up short, and when you come up short, you can’t wait for the chance to fix it.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has received heavy criticism from Andy Harper
Gustavsson lined up a weakened team that was defeated 5-0 by Canada
“I don’t understand why we had to go down this path in this game. It was extraordinarily disappointing. We’re going to hear about load management and this, that and the other. I don’t understand why Clare Wheeler couldn’t have played alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross , or Sarah Hunter couldn’t have played alongside Katrina Gorry You only have one part of the field, to give some kind of stability.
‘Particularly for Sarah Hunter. What a great occasion it is to be called up for your first call-up with the national team. Celebratory atmosphere around Christine Sinclair, the Matildas soar on the charts.
“What a great occasion, and Sarah Hunter, just to talk about a young girl, you look at the team and think, ‘How do we do this?’ And then you are under enormous pressure.
‘I wonder what purpose the experiment was here in that first half.’
But Gustavsson justified his decision by insisting that he needed to increase the team’s depth.
“We have debated and discussed a lot, I listened to the experts around me, my sports scientists and physiotherapists about load management in players,” he said.
The Matildas coach justified the decision by seeking to manage the load of his players
But Harper said Gustavsson left his players high and dry with his decision.
‘If, for example, you have a player who only has one game, what game are we going to play (with him)?
“If we mix it up, maybe we’ll get more of two solid performances, but also at the expense of maybe continuity in a possible starting lineup.”
“Maybe there isn’t as much experience in terms of age and number of caps, but there was still enough to feel like we had a balance and a structure.
‘Sometimes growth hurts. Growth and development hurts sometimes. As long as you know why you’re doing it and what you’re doing, and it’s also up to me to protect the players on this journey.”