A sluggish Matildas side suffered a 2-1 loss to Canada in their final pre-Olympics hitout.
But coach Tony Gustavsson isn’t concerned. In fact, he said the match went perfectly according to plan.
In stifling conditions in Spain, the Tillies were outplayed for much of the encounter, and were perhaps lucky to only lose by a goal.
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The Matildas were sluggish, the Canadians dictating play for the most part. The Aussies looked at their most dangerous on the counter attack.
There were also some injury concerns – Caitlin Foord was a late withdrawal for Sharn Freier, while cameras captured several Matildas players with icepacks on the sidelines.
Sharn Freier and Mary Fowler celebrate the former’s goal against Canada in the Matildas’ final pre-Olympics match against Canada. Matildas
But speaking to Paramount Plus after the match, Gustavsson explained there was a method to the madness.
“We tried to play a game with fatigue,” he said.
“We’ve trained very hard this week, to practice playing a game in heat and fatigue to try and replicate the end of the game in a playoff match or in extra time, to learn how to stay focussed and still be able to play.
“We’re a team known for being very aggressive, high octane, energy team. When you fatigue it’s hard to play that way.
“We wanted to train ourselves mentally, physically and tactically to play with fatigue.”
Gustavsson credited Canadian administrators for facilitating the match under International B rules, which allowed unlimited substitutions, drinks breaks and a much more informal setting.
“As a preparation game, it was perfect … we got to do a lot of things to prepare for the Olympics (and) we got a lot of answers,” he said.
A late addition to the squad, Freier opener the scoring the the Matildas on the 23 minute mark. Nichelle Prince equalised in the 41st minute off the back of a fumble from ‘keeper Mackenzie Arnold.
Evelyne Viens struck the matchwinner for the Canadians in the 85th minute.
The Matildas will begin their Olympics campaign against Germany in the early hours of July 26.