Matildas coach makes frank admission
Matildas interim coach Tom Sermanni has taken a veiled swipe at his predecessor for a lack of forward planning as he prepares to hand minutes to “as many players as I can” this week.
Sermanni said he would not guarantee opportunities to a raft of inexperienced players preparing for two friendlies against Chinese Taipei but was eager to “expand the competition” within the national set-up after Tony Gustavsson’s reluctance to build depth in his four-year tenure.
The 2023 World Cup coach blooded 23 debutants while but only used 14 of his 23 squad members for more than 30 minutes during Australia’s gruelling campaign at its home tournament.
With top-end talent including Arsenal trio Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord returning overseas following the consecutive friendly losses to Brazil, Sermanni suggested he would look to make up for lost time with some experimental selection.
Of the 22 players remaining in the Matildas camp before the Chinese Taipei friendlies, 12 have appeared seven times or less for the senior national team.
“One of the key things as a national team coach is you’ve got to play for the present but plan for the future,” Sermanni said in Melbourne on Tuesday.
“In all fairness, I don’t think we’ve planned the future well enough. So part of the task for me, and whoever comes in on a permanent basis, has to be that we’re doing a little bit of balance of both.
“That encompasses looking at other players by trying to balance everything out, getting results, good performances … but we do need to look at expanding the competition in what I would call the Matildas program.”
Sermanni repeated that he was willing to stay on as interim coach for as long as required and said it was important to have “continuity” between his tenure and the eventual new appointment to ensure players he was promoting did not fall through the cracks.
“I think when I step away, the coach that comes in, he or she will hopefully rely on the staff that is here, as well as perhaps bringing (their own) staff,” he said.
“If you look at the overall picture, what’s very important for the Matildas job or the Australian job is that when the head coach comes in, it’s not just simply the head coach of one team but the head coach of the Matildas’ program.”
Veteran midfielder Emily van Egmond will again captain Australia in the friendlies in Melbourne on Wednesday and Geelong on Saturday.
The Matildas’ previous meeting with Chinese Taipei was in Olympic qualifying in November last year when they eventually broke through a stubborn low block to win 3-0 after a scoreless first half.
New Chinese Taipei coach Chan Hiu Ming said he wanted his team to use the friendlies to play with more freedom and attacking flair than in that game.
