Ellie Carpenter delivers harsh Matildas truth as Caitlin Foord reveals 'strange' coaching situation

Matildas defender Ellie Carpenter has admitted that the Australian side's results over the last 12 months simply haven't been good enough as she emphasised the importance of getting the new coaching call right. The Matildas vice-captain has seen the international side slip to No.15 in the world after they previously held down a place in the world's top 10. But Carpenter believes the Australian side has what it takes to again challenge the best teams in the world at the 2026 Asian Cup, 2027 Women's World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games.

The Matildas haven't won the Asian Cup since claiming it under current interim coach Tom Sermanni in 2010, and their best finish at both the World Cup and Olympics is fourth. However, the Matildas' playing group has lofty aspirations and believes anything is possible under the right coach.

Football Australia has consulted with the Matildas' leadership group of Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Carpenter and Emily van Egmond, regarding the hunt for Tony Gustavsson's successor, a decision Carpenter says is of the utmost importance. "Yeah, initially we had some conversations, but at the end of the day we trust them for that process and to make the right decision," Carpenter said. "For us it's simple: we want a coach that can bring the best out of all of us players to play the best football and to get results.

"We are 15th now in the world, and I think we're not satisfied with that, and, yeah, we need to produce results in these next couple of years and this is a very important start of a massive cycle for this team." Experienced mentor Sermanni's interim tenure kicks off in earnest against world No.25 Switzerland on Saturday AEDT and world No.4 Germany three days later.

"With Tommy being only the interim at the moment he's voiced that he's all-in with us, 100 per cent, and I think that's important to have that right from the get-go," Carpenter said. Carpenter said she expects Australia to play with a sense of attacking freedom against Switzerland and Germany - and return to the form that saw them topple top-10 nations before.

"The girls really want to buy into that and get back to winning ways," Carpenter said. "Because we're 15th and results for us from now onwards matter, especially leading into the World Cup with rankings. So we're out to do a job, we're out to perform and we want to get us back in the top 10."

Caitlin Foord reveals 'strange' coaching situation

While Carpenter is without a full-time coach, the situation is far more peculiar for her Matildas teammate Caitlin Foord, who doesn't have a head coach for club or country after Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall recently stepped down. The 29-year-old said it is both a "weird" and "strange" position to be in but hopes neither coaching decision is rushed.

"I trust in both club and country that when the coach comes in, it'll be the right person," she said. "It shows you how quickly the game can change, and how things can change really fast.

"As players, we want to win, we want to be successful, we want to take the team to the next level. So I think it's just about finding the right person for the job. I've always been purely, I'll play football, and I guess all the other stuff's up to who's in charge. So for me, I just hope it's the right person for the job to help us take us to the next level."

RELATED:

• Mary Fowler's epic on-field response to Nathan Cleary's grand final glory

• Mary Fowler makes huge statement as Matildas teammates suffer blow

Foord stressed there was "no rush" on appointing a permanent Matildas coach and said she is looking forward to once again playing under Sermanni - who she debuted under as a teenager. "For us, just to have a good environment, a positive environment, obviously, as we all know, it was, I guess, quite a negative one from the Olympics not going the way we wanted to," she said.

"So just to get back to that Matildas' fun, positive football feeling and yeah, hopefully, two good results off the back of that will help us moving forward as well."

with AAP