Gustavsson proud of Matildas’ maturity against Denmark (1:21)Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson praises his team’s response to adversity through the tournament, and how they handled a challenging Denmark side. (1:21)
The Matildas stand on the edge of Australian footballing history.
For the fourth time Australia have reached the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup. They have never progressed beyond that stage. But they have also never reached this point in the fashion they have. It’s never felt like this before.
The Matildas’ win over Canada was fueled by pure, unbridled emotion — the anger and devastation of the loss to Nigeria contorting into fear and hope for fans, and a backs-against-the-wall, underdog mentality for the players.
But a week between the end of the group stage and the beginning of the round of 16 meant that extreme emotions were unsustainable. And while the feelings post-Nigeria and either side of the Canada result were easy to identify, the feeling in the leadup to the Denmark clash was much harder to place.
A return to the round of 16. A date with Denmark. The threat of Pernille Harder. A Sam Kerr-less team. But a team that had put four goals past the Olympic champions. No feeling quite felt like it fit.
Now with hindsight, the feeling present throughout the buildup was calmness. It couldn’t be placed earlier in the week because the Matildas had never had a run-in to knockout match that elicited that kind of response.
The resounding nature of the Canada win was cause for optimism. This was only aided by finishing top of the group and setting up a date with the second-ranked team in Group D rather than the winners.