After a disappointing Olympics campaign, one of the key goals of interim Matildas boss Tom Sermanni coming into this international window was to put in place the building blocks of a new, four-year cycle not just tactically and technically, but also emotionally. Friday evening’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland, however, showed this remains very much a work in progress.
Taking the field for the first time since they were bundled out of the Paris Games in the group stages, the side started in a 3-5-2 shape at the Stadion Letzigrund, with Courtney Nevin slotting in alongside Kennedy and Clare Hunt in a centre-back trio. Ellie Carpenter and Kaitlyn Torpey were deployed as wingbacks, a shift that also saw Mary Fowler drop into more of a playmaking role alongside Katrina Gorry and Kyra Cooney-Cross.
The smart deployment of Fowler on games was another of Sermanni’s key goals as interim but this was one that still carried the hallmarks of being a work in progress. Australia generally struggled to create clear-cut chances and move the ball with speed when it came time to get on the front foot. It wasn’t until Caitlin Foord’s 43rd-minute penalty that Australia achieved ascendency heading into the halftime break, threatening to spoil the host’s party.
On another day, the Swiss could have easily found themselves one or even two goals to the good. Géraldine Reuteler had placed a perfectly weighted pass in behind Alanna Kennedy and into the path of Vallotto moments before Foord’s spot-kick, only for the 20-year-old’s effort to be denied by a split-second reaction save from an advancing Mackenzie Arnold.
And in the 18th minute, the Australian custodian had been forced to react quickly when Naomi Luyet swung a ball in that was turned around the corner first time by Viola Calligaris. Then Foord rocked the Swiss with a sucker punch.
Switzerland’s Ana Maria Crnogorcevic tussles with Australia’s Caitlin Foord in the match at Stadium Letzigrund in Zurich. Photograph: Til Buergy/EPA
When you’re looking to pick yourself up off the canvas, sometimes you need a few breaks to go your way. But the thing about breaks is that, eventually, they’ll start going the other way, too. And 13 minutes into the second stanza, with the hosts imposing themselves more on the game, the Matildas’ inability to clear their lines cost them dearly.
Unable to make proper contact with several attempts to knock the ball clear, a packed Australian backline could do little as the ball deflected off Vallotto and into the path of Reuteler, who threaded through a mass of bodies with enough power to ensure Arnold’s hand couldn’t prevent the ball from nestling in the back of the net.
The stats would ultimately tell the tale of a largely even contest, but with a record crowd of more than 14,000 watching on in Zürich, the game always felt like it was the Swiss who were the protagonists. They had one final clear chance to seal triumph in the 89th minute when Barcelona prospect Sydney Joy Schertenleib teed up Larina Baumann to shoot from the top of the box, only for her effort to hit the crossbar.
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The Matildas were at their best playing with speed. Their goal came from Gorry scanning upfield. She collected a loose ball, turned and played the ball to Carpenter on the right. Given time to survey the scene herself, the stand-in skipper bent a ball behind Luana Bühler and into the path of Foord, who shook off the Swiss defender with ease before rounding and being brought down by Elvira Herzog for her penalty.
It was a moment of flash in a performance that wasn’t bad but not great, either. With Germany awaiting in the coming days, it was a building block. For the Matildas, this was a largely frustrating night. Far from a disaster but not something to look back on with affection in the years to come.