The Matildas are officially on the lookout for a new coach after Football Australia confirmed that Head Coach Tony Gustavsson’s contract will not be extended.
“It has been a great honour and privilege to have been able to be the head coach of the Matildas over the past four years,” Gustavsson said in a statement.
“This journey with the team has had many incredible moments and memories that I will forever treasure.”
His time comes to an end after he failed to guide the Matildas past the group stage at the Paris Olympics. The Matildas crashed out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after losing their final group stage match against the USA 2 – 1.
Dreams of an Olympic medal for Australia in women’s soccer have now been put on the back burner until 2028 when the girls in the green and gold will endeavour to play at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
This heartbreaking loss comes after the team defeated Zambia 6 – 5 earlier this week, and lost against Germany 3 – 0 days prior.
By not winning against the US Women’s National Team, the Matildas were unable to secure their spot in the quarter-finals.
When the draw was first announced, Head Coach Tony Gustavsson said it was a “huge win” for the team, especially considering they would be avoiding last year’s World Cup winners Spain, host nation France, and Tokyo gold medalists Canada in what would be a “pool of death.”
While Germany and the USA are ranked fourth and fifth to Australia’s 12th in the global ranking, Matikdas progressed significantly further than either team in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In fact, Germany didn’t even progress past the group stage, meanwhile, former World Cup winners USA won just a single game in their group stage matches.
Zambia is currently ranked 64 out of the 193 globally ranked teams in the FIFA Women’s Soccer world rankings.
Following a fourth-place finish at the World Cup and at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, fans were hopeful that at the Paris Olympic Games, the Matildas would secure a podium finish – but alas this wasn’t the case.
Want more Matildas Olympic content? Check out the below articles:
- Here’s when and where you can watch the Matildas next match
- Every result from every game the Tillies’ have played this year
- Meet the Matildas Olympic squad taking to the pitch in Paris
Stream Matildas: The World At Our Feet now on Disney Plus with a mth-to-mth no lock-in contract. Subscribe here.
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