- Tony Gustavsson has been criticized
- Matildas was defeated 5-0 by Canada
- Andy Harper said he threw his players under the bus
Andy Harper has singled out Matildas boss Tony Gustavsson after Australia's 'extremely disappointing' 5-0 defeat to Canada.
The former Newcastle United star questioned Gustavsson's decision to field a weakened team on Saturday, with Mary Fowler, Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord on the bench, while Sam Kerr and Mackenzie Arnold were injured.
Gustavsson was duly punished for that decision, with the Matildas succumbing to their heaviest defeat since their 7-0 loss to Spain in June 2022.
And Harper said the Matildas coach exposed his team when he didn't have to.
“Well, something has been achieved: somehow we managed to get girls outside to dry in the pouring rain,” Harper said on Channel 10 after the match.
'I don't know exactly what to do with this (approach) here. I sympathize with some of the people involved. It will be a tough few days before they get the chance to get back on the training pitch. We've been there, we know what it's like to be under that pressure and fall short – and when you fall short, you can't wait for a chance to fix it.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson has been heavily criticized by Andy Harper
Gustavsson fielded a weakened team, which was defeated 5-0 against Canada
'I don't understand why we had to take this path in this match. It was extremely disappointing. We're going to hear about managing loads and this, that and the next thing. I don't understand why Clare Wheeler couldn't have played alongside Kyra Cooney-Cross, or Sarah Hunter couldn't have played alongside Katrina Gorry. Provide only one part of the field, to create some stability.
“Especially for Sarah Hunter. What a huge occasion it is to be called up for your first national team cap. Festive mood around Christine Sinclair, as the Matildas rocket up the charts.
“What a big event, and Sarah Hunter, just to talk about one young person, you look around the team and think, 'How do we do this?' And then you are under enormous pressure.
“I'm just wondering what the experiment here was for in that first half?”
But Gustavsson justified his decision by insisting he needed to increase the depth of the squad.
“We had a lot of debate and discussion, I listened to my experts around me with my sports science and physios on managing player loads,” he said.
The Matildas coach justified the decision because he wants to manage the burden on his players
But Harper said Gustavsson left his players out to dry with his decision
“For example, if you have a player who only has one game, which game do we play (with him)?
'If we mix we might get more two solid performances, but this might also come at the expense of continuity in a potential starting line-up.
'Maybe not that experienced in terms of age and number of caps, but there was still enough to feel that we had balance and structure.
'Sometimes growth hurts. Growth and development sometimes hurt. As long as you know why you're doing it and what you're doing, and it's also up to me to protect the players on this journey.”