Australia coach Tony Gustavsson yesterday was facing questions after a stunning 3-2 defeat to Nigeria on Thursday left the FIFA Women’s World Cup cohosts “teetering on the edge of something deep and dark.”
The Matildas could have sealed their place in the round-of-16 with victory in front of a sell-out Brisbane crowd and took the lead in first-half stoppage-time through Emily van Egmond, but Nigeria struck back on the stroke of halftime through Uchenna Kanu and scored twice more in the second half, before Gustavsson’s side pulled a goal back deep into stoppage-time at the end of the match.
The defeat left Australia needing to beat Olympic champions Canada on Monday to stay in the competition.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Swede Gustavsson was under pressure afterwards to explain why he left it until the 82nd minute to make his first substitution — they were losing 3-1 by then — and when he did make his first change, he took off an attacker and brought on a defender in Clare Polkinghorne, pushing defender Alanna Kennedy up front.
That exposed Australia’s lack of goalscoring options with Sam Kerr injured, and Kennedy did score very late on, but Gustavsson’s tactics were nevertheless in the spotlight.
Former men’s international goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer told Optus Sport: “I think when he looks back at those substitutions, when he made them and the type of substitutions he made, I think he’ll look back with a little bit of regret.”
Former Matilda Amy Chapman agreed.
“He needed to go for it. There’s a 3-1 gap there. It’s too late,” she said.
Schwarzer put the question to Gustavsson, who replied: “As a coach you always evaluate after the game, do you do it in the right moment, when do you do those subs? I’m going to look back at it and see if it was the right moment.”
Australia had plenty of the ball, especially in the first half, but Nigeria were more clinical.
Local media said Gustavsson should have done better with his substitutions, but also felt the Matildas had enough chances to win the game — 27 attempts at goal to Nigeria’s 11.
“After coming into this tournament riding a wave of positivity — especially compared to the other teams in their group — the Matildas are teetering on the edge of something deep and dark and vastly cold,” Australian Broadcasting Corp said.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Sumo is walking a “tightrope” as it prepares to stage events outside Japan for the first time in 20 years while also trying to preserve its ancient traditions, experts say. The sport is to hold exhibition tournaments in London in October and in Paris in June next year, the first time the Japan Sumo Association has been abroad since Las Vegas in 2005. Sports such as soccer, baseball and football play domestic games overseas in a bid to gain new fans in emerging markets. John Gunning, a former amateur sumo wrestler who commentates on the sport in English on Japanese television, says its
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
RSS