Robbie Slater rips into Matildas and Football Australia chief over pre-Olympics move

Socceroos great Robbie Slater has taken aim at the Matildas and Football Australia after a disastrous start to the team's Olympic Games campaign in Paris. The Matildas were thrashed 3-0 by 2016 Olympic champions Germany, with Australia's coach Tony Gustavsson admitting after the game that his side was not ready for the onslaught by the Germans.

“I don’t think we were ready for it. Germany were class today – they were much better," the Matildas coach said. Captain Steph Catley said the chastening defeat from Germany was "definitely a wake-up call" and said the Aussies simply had to pick themselves up for the next two games.

"That's tournament football. We've got two more games and we've got to turn it around quickly. We've got a lot to learn from here. I think at times we were on top and we let two set-pieces affect the game in a very negative way." Clare Wheeler added: “Our mantra is ‘never say die’. And I think that’s what you’re going to have to see in these next two games. We’re not going to say die. By no means does it mean we’re out. We have two more games. We’re going to have to embody that never say die attitude.”

The Aussies were thoroughly outclassed by the European heavyweights and now face an uphill battle to reach the knockout stages at the Olympics, with tricky matches to come about Zambia and the mighty USA. Following their 3-0 drubbing in Paris, Slater has questioned the Matildas' preparations going into the Olympics and pondered why Gustavsson's side didn't play another warm-up match against New Zealand before the Games, as they'd originally planned.

The Matildas played China in two friendlies in Australia before heading overseas and were given a reality check by reining Olympic gold medallists Canada in Spain last week. The 2-1 defeat to Canada was the final hit-out for the Matildas before Friday morning's loss against Germany and Socceroos great Slater argued the thumping defeat in Paris proved Gustavsson's side were under-prepared going into their Olympics campaign.

Robbie Slater questions preparations from Matildas

But Slater said he can't understand why Gustavsson's side weren't ready for the first match against Germany when they had a lengthy pre-Olympics camp in Spain, where "their every need was catered for". In an article for News Corp, the Socceroos great says the shocking result against Germany just proves that the Matildas needed at least one more warm-up match against quality opposition before the Games got underway.

"If the Matildas weren’t ready, why didn’t they play a second warm-up game against New Zealand, as was originally planned, and not just the one match against Canada?" Slater wrote. "On the basis of the performance against Germany, it’s a question that needs to be answered."

Slater also questioned the move from team manager Gina Rees to speak with reporters on the eve of the Matildas' first match and said that job should have fallen exclusively to the coach. The Socceroos great suggested the move reeked of complacency from the Matildas and Football Australia and he slammed FA chief executive officer James Johnson for saying the Matildas are "defined by the legacy that they’ve already created", not by the results in Paris.

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"It’s no wonder the team seems to have a complacent attitude when Johnson suggests it doesn’t matter how the team performs at the Paris Games," Slater added. The Socceroos legend said the best way the Matildas can add to their legacy is by winning games and pointed to a number of areas they can sharpen up before Monday morning's (AEST) crunch second match against Zambia.

Slater said the Matildas' defending of set pieces needed to be better after being exposed by Germany. He also thinks the Aussies need to press higher up the pitch against Zambia than they did against Germany and added that Gustavsson has to find a way to get more of an attacking impact out of Mary Fowler, who's carrying much of the goalscoring burden in the absence of sidelined superstar, Sam Kerr.