It was a tough result and tough match for the Young Matildas as they went down 2-0 to Brazil in their second group stage match of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
However, the Australian side is taking the result against the current and 11-time South American U-20 champions in their stride and apply their learnings to their final group game in Costa Rica.
For head coach Leah Blayney, there were positives to take from the soggy pitch in Alajuela, as well as key areas of improvement.
“We're super competitive so we always want to win every match,” Blayney said in a post-match flash interview.
“Some of the takeaways we can take from the performance is that we dominated in terms of some possession at times. For us, we need to be more effective, especially with our final passes into the front third.”
Both Blayney and the players were full of praise for their Brazilian counterparts, with the coach earmarking them as a favourite to win the whole tournament.
The Young Matildas don’t often play against South American opposition so the opportunity to play against the talent of Brazil was one the group took with both hands.
“It's an opportunity to play an international game against probably the best youth team in the world right now,” Blayney explained.
“So in terms of that exposure for all of our players it's a good opportunity, we played against a different style of team as well, where there are some really good individuals, some good dribblers and those kinds of things that definitely expose some individual defending for us, so it's all learning.”
The players echoed that sentiment of enjoying the rare opportunity and challenge presented to them through a World Cup match against Brazil.
“I think it's huge. It's not something that a lot of young Australians have got the opportunity to do in the past,” midfielder Hana Lowry said.
“So the fact that this age group has been given that opportunity, we're definitely taking so much learning from it. And personally, I've grown up dreaming to be at a World Cup, and being able to be here and soak it all up is really exciting.”
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The Brazilian players weren’t the only challenging aspect of this match with inclement weather forcing a break in play for well over an hour. Both sides needed to be resilient and adaptable and Bryleeh Henry believed the pause came at a good time for the Australians.
“I actually think it was a bonus for us. We were down 1-0 so we were able to regroup. We went back in and we just treated it like we were starting the game again. And we got to talk about what we could do better and fix,” she said.
“So that was an opportunity to get together as a team and as a staff and capitalise on that moment to fix the things that maybe we weren't doing right. I think when we came back out in that second half, we adapted to the conditions and we did everything we talked about and put up a good fight into the second half.”
Lowry agreed that the Young Matildas not only adapted but always tried to play their own game despite tough opposition, a strong press, and trying conditions.
“We still tried to play our game, tried to play the ball around even when they were fully pressing us. So I think that's a positive we can take. I think defensively, obviously conceding two goals, wasn't great, but I think there were a lot of chances we were able to defend. We were able to stay composed and not let the big event get to us and that's something we should be really proud of," Lowry said.
After drying off and recovering, Australia’s focus will turn to the European champions, Spain. The equation is simple for the Young Matildas: a win will see them progress to the knockout stages.
Henry and the squad will review the Brazil match and see what they can apply to their own game when facing the Spanish team.
“We looked at Brazil, they're a very technical and athletic team and Spain is similar in that way. But I think athleticism, we have that over them. The way they play, will suit us a lot," she said.
"Reviewing Brazil, I think it's in that final third, the final pass and getting more chances on goal is absolutely important.”
For Blayney and the coaching staff, Spain are a “different beast” but the coach has confidence that her side can tighten up in places and hurt Spain as well.
"We're confident going into our final group match. We know that we're capable of playing some good football. Again, we still demonstrated that tonight in patches just for not long enough periods of time for our standards.”
Next Match
Australia v Spain
Date: Tuesday, 16 August 2022 (local)/ Wednesday, 17 August 2022
Venue: Morera Soto, Alajuela
Kick-Off: 8:00 pm CST (local)/ 12:00pm AEST
Broadcast: SBS Australia
