Directionless Matildas risk being left behind as Asian Cup rivals accelerate | Joey Lynch | OneFootball

Earlier this year, newly unveiled Japan coach Nils Nielsen observed that “if football was played only in the space between the two penalty areas,” his side might be the most successful team in football history. Alas, football doesn’t end 18 yards from each goal. For the Dane, the first foreigner put in charge of Nadeshiko Japan and tasked with breaking a cycle that had seen them fail to progress beyond the quarter-finals of a World Cup or Olympics since 2015, instilling a ruthless edge within his new side loomed large.

Flash forward to now and Nielsen probably couldn’t have hoped for a better start to his tenure than the recently completed SheBelieves Cup. Japan not only won all three of their games but already showed signs of promise on the priorities their coach had identified. Inevitably, one tournament does not a tenure make, but Nadeshiko mercilessly took the lead in the sixth minute in their opening thrashing of Australia, before following that up with go-ahead goals after just 18 seconds against Colombia and 109 seconds when facing the United States. Despite playing three games in seven days against three nations known for their physicality, Japan maintained a high level of intensity and competitiveness too, capping things off with a hard-fought win over the reigning Olympic champions.

This dovetails, albeit not auspiciously for those of a green and gold nature, with the Matildas. The 2023 World Cup semi-finalists stood in stark contrast to their Asian rivals not only when it came to results, losing all three of their games, but also in direction. While Japan, already possessing a strong foundation of technical excellence and junior development, can now build under Nielsen with purpose and intent, the Matildas are defined by their ennui, listlessly standing off to the side as their rivals on both the continental and global stage accelerate away.

Across their last 12 fixtures, Australia’s women have lost seven times compared to three wins. In 270 minutes at the SheBelieves Cup, Michelle Heyman’s goal against the United States and Hayley Raso’s against Colombia represented their only two shots on target, while basic defensive errors and sloppiness in possession are increasingly costing the side at critical moments. Many of the squad’s core are on their fourth or fifth World Cup cycles, a level of continuity that borders on stagnation in the fast-moving world of international football. For all the talk of generational renewal in recent years, the Matildas have fielded an older side than their opponents in seven straight games – the first-choice XI that was trounced by Japan averaging 28.2 years, with seven players aged 30 or over.

Much needs to happen between now and the Matildas opening the 2026 Asian Cup at Perth Stadium a year from today if they are to lift a first continental crown since 2010. The need for a rest is obvious and, for those paying close attention as opposed to just coming out of the woodwork in the wake of the Marty Sheargold saga, it has been coming for a while. Yet whereas Japan under Nielsen – with Australian Leah Blayney as his assistant – the United States under Emma Hayes, or North Korea as it emerges from self-imposed international exile, are racing ahead into a new era, the Matildas remain in neutral, locked in place by Football Australia’s imperceptible search for Tony Gustavsson’s replacement. Because simply put, the Matildas desperately needed new dawn cannot commence until a permanent coach is named.

Installed as an interim following the Gusvtasson exit, Tom Sermanni has done the job that is to be expected of a caretaker but after two friendlies with Korea in April, his tenure will stand at four windows covering 11 matches. As interim coach, it is not his role to decide which players will be needed for 2026, or the 2027 World Cup and beyond. It would be even harder to expect Sermanni to transition those not in the longer-term plans out of the side, nor is it his job to establish a game style that the squad will utilise at major tournaments.

These are tasks and decisions for a permanent coach. Every window that passes without a permanent head coach – every squad that is named without their involvement, and every training session that is taken without their guidance – magnifies the scope of their challenge as the time before the Asian Cup shrinks. The SheBelieves Cup, against three vastly different nations, would have been a perfect introduction but is now another opportunity that has gone begging.

Football Australia insist the delay is related to them not being willing to settle for anything less than a world-class candidate. The plan is to have a new coach installed by the middle of the year, and Heather Garriock, the chair of FA’s football development committee leading the recruitment process, told AAP on Thursday there was “plenty of time,” for a new coach to make an impact.

But to stand still in international football is to be left behind. The risk is that by the time a new coach arrives, the year the federation took to find them will have left a deficit too great to overcome.

Header image: [Photograph: Jack Gorman/Getty Images]