The Matildas. It’s one of the most recognisable names in football and a rare case where a team is almost universally referred to by their nickname alone.
There’s considerable debate over the origin of the name, with some suggesting it was derived from a giant mechanical kangaroo that featured at the 1982 Commonwealth Games. Others propose it’s a nod to a camping bag (known as a ‘Matilda’) in a famous Australian poem, Waltzing Matilda, or as a result of a TV poll that had the name listed alongside others, including the ‘Soccertoos’ and the ‘Blue Flyers’.
Wherever it came from it’s certainly stuck, not only in global football circles but also in households across Australia, with Matilda ranking as the seventh most popular name for girls in the country last year.
In barely two decades, the Matildas have gone from struggling for recognition at home to being Australia’s most popular sporting team. Almost 80,000 supporters turned up in Sydney in May for a final, pre-Olympics, warm-up against China PR, making it 14 consecutive home matches that have sold-out.
Now it’s over to Tony Gustavsson and the 18 women that will carry the nation’s hopes to reward that outstanding support with an Olympic medal. In four previous outings, the team has showed continued growth that culminated in a fourth-place finish at Tokyo 2020 and they backed that up with a run to the semi-finals at last year’s co-hosted Women’s World Cup.
While global phenomenon Sam Kerr is unavailable through injury, it’s still a star-studded squad that was named in early June, packed with vastly experienced players on the books of some of the biggest clubs in world football.
Captain Steph Catley is one of eight players who will be heading to a third Games and there’s genuine optimism both inside the team and more broadly across Australia that the nation is primed for a podium finish in Paris.
The coach: Tony Gustavsson
Appointed in late 2020, Gustavsson’s first task was at the previous Games in Tokyo, where he piloted the side to their best ever finish as they were eliminated by his native Sweden in the semi-finals.
A run to the final four at last year’s co-hosted home Women’s World Cup captured the hearts of the nation and set expectations high for the Olympics. That was only enhanced by a swashbuckling qualification campaign that saw the nation win all five matches, plundering 26 goals (with none against) along the way.
The affable Gustavsson knows the squad inside-out and has a trusted core of vastly experienced stars that he’s methodically constructed the team around. In what could be his final tournament at the Matildas helm, with his contract expiring post-Games, he’s declared that the side wants “something tangible” as Australia hunt for a maiden medal.
Olympics history
Previous participations: Four (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020)
Best result: Fourth (Tokyo 2020)
The Matildas made their tournament bow on home soil at Sydney 2000 in disappointing fashion, failing to win a match and finishing bottom of the group. A headline draw against eventual champions USA was part of a run to the quarter-finals four years later in Athens before the side failed to qualify for the two subsequent editions.
Their return to the Games arena, at Rio 2016, carried echoes of that previous appearance as one again they held eventual champions Germany to a group-stage draw before exiting in the last eight.
Tokyo 2020 was the nation’s most successful campaign, with Great Britain being swatted aside in the quarters before narrow losses in the semi-finals (against Sweden) and the third-place play-off (against USA) concluded a tournament where they narrowly missed out on a medal.
The squad
The Matildas announced their 18-strong squad* in early June and it features eight players set to head to a third Olympics. Veterans Michelle Heyman and Tameka Yallop are the only domestic-based players in a side that will be captained by Arsenal defender Steph Catley in the absence of injured star Sam Kerr. Half of the squad play in England’s WSL while Heyman and 24-year-old Kaitlyn Torpey are the only two not to have been involved in last year’s Women’s World Cup.
Full squad: Mackenzie Arnold, Ellie Carpenter, Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Katrina Gorry, Michelle Heyman, Clare Hunt, Alanna Kennedy, Teagan Micah, Clare Polkinghorne, Hayley Raso, Kaitlyn Torpey, Emily van Egmond, Courtney Vine, Clare Wheeler, Tameka Yallop.
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