Women's World Cup 2019 team guide No 9: Australia

Posted by freemexy on June 10th, 2019

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2019 Women’s World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 24 countries who have qualified for France. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 7 June.To get more australian women's soccer team, you can visit shine news official website.

It is fair to say the No 6-ranked Matildas have Australia’s best-ever chance of winning a football World Cup. But the weight of expectation has been lightened since January’s shock sacking of coach Alen Stajcic amid allegations of a toxic and stagnating environment, and significant question marks linger as to whether Ante Milicic can impress his bold footballing philosophy upon the squad with just a handful of games to prepare for France.

Conversely, this makes the Matildas a genuine dark horse for the tournament. Galvanised by a frustrating past year or two, and ambitious to explore the uncharted – with a determined, likeable, close-knit squad of players – they could pull it off in style. Tactically, the system employed in April’s entertaining friendly defeat against the US was already a bold evolution from that seen during the recent Cup of Nations tournament. Australia surprised the world’s best team on home soil with an aggressive 4-2-4 (or lopsided 3-3-4) system that pressed the full-backs high, and played swiftly and vertically in transition, forcing the US into uncharacteristic mistakes. Though, as a 5-3 scoreline indicates, at times this left the Matildas vulnerable at the back, with a high line exposing their key defensive stalwarts for pace.
Milicic is very clear in his philosophy – he wants the Matildas to dominate possession, to play with attacking intent and courage and let the opposition adapt to their game. This is tempered with pragmatism – against the US the collective system was adapted to best support the attributes of key individuals, surrounding spearhead Sam Kerr with the energetic Caitlin Foord, with width provided by attacking wingers Lisa De Vanna, Emily Gielnik or Hayley Raso. In midfield, the accomplished ball players Elise Kellond-Knight and Emily van Egmond are tasked with building the play from deep, while rising star Ellie Carpenter is given licence to attack from right-back.

With 12 players boasting 50 or more caps the squad is an excellent blend of youth and experience. Australians make up the largest foreign cohort of NWSL starters, with the complementary calendars of the domestic W-League and the elite US competition meaning year-round football for the nation’s best players. Whether the Matildas are the finished article in time for this World Cup remains to be seen, but Milicic is emphatic his side will play “the Australian way” – with energy, with courage and with self-belief.
Milicic is a highly regarded coach domestically, who served as the men’s national team assistant under Ange Postecoglou, a side that won international acclaim for its attacking showing at the 2014 men’s World Cup and silverware in the form of Australia’s first men’s Asian Cup trophy in 2015. Hard-working, meticulous and forensic in his preparation, Milicic is a taskmaster, but personable enough to extract the very best from this talented playing group.
What more is there to write about Sam Kerr? One of the undisputed stars of the women’s game, Kerr is the all-time leading goalscorer in both the NWSL and the W-League, and arrives in France coming off four consecutive domestic Golden Boot awards – and all this at just 25 years old. Overlooked for Fifa’s major individual honours – due perhaps to previous criticism of the governing body – but a star-turn in France and a move to one of Europe’s top clubs post-World Cup could change that.