Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson is finally coming to terms with an injury that ruined the World Cup for his star striker, but dodges the question about his future with the team
- Goalscorer was a controversial selection in the squad
- Couldn’t help her teammates chase World Cup glory
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Controversial Matildas selection Kyah Simon had an injury after the start of the Women’s World Cup that reduced her role to that of potential penalty taker.
Simon was selected as part of the 23-man squad on July 3, despite not having played since tearing her left anterior cruciate ligament at former club Tottenham Hotspur in October last year.
The 32-year-old did not play a minute in her third World Cup, as Australia reached the semi-finals for the first time.
The striker’s absence only compounded the loss of captain Sam Kerr for the first three games.
‘The (penalty) shootout. I could have used her there,” said coach Tony Gustavsson after Matildas’ 2-0 loss to Sweden in Saturday’s third place playoff.
Kyah Simon (pictured right with Sam Kerr) didn’t get a single minute of playing time at the World Cup after being controversially included in the squad
The ex-Tottenham striker won a spot in the squad despite tearing her anterior cruciate ligament last October
“You saw her standing next to me in that technical area before that game against France (in the quarterfinals) when I explained why I didn’t. But that’s the only point where I could have used her.
“Perhaps I should make that clear. That was not the case when I selected her. But she had some setbacks in her training during the World Cup, so she wasn’t able to be a game changer.”
Gustavsson clarified that Simon had suffered setbacks before and after the final squad was locked in, 24 hours before Australia’s opening game against Ireland on 20 July.
“She had a small, smaller (misfortune). She was selected because she was available and in the last two weeks of camp preparation she was phenomenal,” he said.
“Played an 11-aside and did really well then.
“After the selection she had a little setback in Gold Coast – just a little, a little bump, we knew it wasn’t going to be a problem and that’s why I kept her.
“And when the window closed, she had another setback where she was just about to take a PK (penalty kick).”
Gustavsson said Simon’s form was ‘phenomenal’ in the two weeks leading up to the tournament before two setbacks kept her on the outside
The coach (pictured comforting Caitlin Foord after the loss to Sweden as Steph Catley watches) declined to comment on rumors linking him to the vacant U.S. team job
Gustavsson has also hinted that his future with the Matildas depends on more high-quality investment as his charge attempts to progress from the Women’s World Cup heartbreak to the Paris Olympics.
Two-time World Cup winner Jill Ellis has pushed her former assistant’s case to succeed Vlatko Andonovski at the United States.
Gustavsson would not have been specifically recruited for that job, but emphasized that he needed investments.
“From a broader perspective…I know the FA would like to do an in-depth review of each tournament, as they did after the Olympics, after the Asian Cup, that will be done now,” he said.
‘I think that in that review we will learn a lot about me as a coach, about the team, about preparation, about investing. What I can say is that I love working with this team. It resonates with me as a coach, their identity and their why.
“And I’ve said it before, I don’t see this as the end of a journey. I see it as the beginning of a journey.
“But I also want to be very clear that I want to see investments now. Really and truly. I want to see investments. And I mean as a real investment that we’re serious about what we’re doing.”