Matildas fans blast Tony Gustavsson’s team after waking up at 3AM to watch miserable Olympic Games defeat by Germany: ‘This is hard to watch’

Matildas fans struggled through a gruelling 90 minutes of play after waking early to watch their team get beaten by Germany at the Olympics.

At 3am, many fans were up to watch Australia’s opening match in Group B in Marseille, where Tony Gustavsson’s team took on their rivals, who are ranked fourth in the world.

And the Matildas proved no match for the Germans, who won 3-0, leaving the Australians’ Olympic campaign in the doldrums at this early stage.

Fans were far from impressed with the dismal performance in France and took to Reddit to express their concerns for the team.

“Ahhh Tillies, this is hard to watch at 4.30 in the morning,” said one fan as the third goal came.

Another said: ‘Not exactly what you hope for when you get up at 3am to watch.’

“This is intense for 4:30 in the morning,” said a third fan.

Other fans highlighted the lack of energy among the World Cup semi-finalists, an unusual trait of Gustavsson’s team.

Tony Gustavsson’s team went down with a whimper against Germany in Marseille

“Matildas are in such bad shape it’s not even funny anymore,” said one fan.

Another added: ‘This is the worst game I’ve seen them play in a long time.’

But for most fans, there was only one person to blame for the team’s misery in Marseille.

“Tony Gustavsson has rarely made mistakes in matches at major tournaments during his tenure, but this one is comparable to Nigeria’s nightmare,” wrote one fan on X. “Wrong tactics with the high pressure and therefore fielding the wrong players.”

“Tony Gustavsson is the Brad Fittler of women’s football,” said another fan. “He’s just holding our team back.”

The Matildas barely created a chance, as their attacking techniques were thwarted by poor build-up play. The Germans won convincingly with two headers from Marina Hegering and Lea Schueller from corners, before Brand suitably secured the most convincing victory.

The Australians, who had suffered an injury that had ruled out Tameka Yallop, were soon alerted to the danger posed by the excellent Brand, who fired a shot in the fourth minute after Kyra Cooney-Cross had been robbed in midfield.

Shortly afterwards, Brand received another great, quick pass from German keeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who cut inside Katrina Gorry and should have scored. However, the ball flew high and not exactly pretty.

The Matildas provided a lively first quarter, but their high line left them vulnerable to the counter, with Cortnee Vine having to make a crucial interception to prevent Giulia Gwinn from giving the Germans the lead.

Yet it looked inevitable when Gwinn took a corner to the far post in the 24th minute, but Hegering headed the ball down at just the right moment after passing Ellie Carpenter.

Mary Fowler, who had an ineffective night up front, responded almost immediately but lost the ball when she went to shoot in the box. The Tillies also had a couple of speculative tries through Caitlin Foord.

The Germans could have advanced even further before half-time, but Sjoeke Nusken was stopped by a fine intervention from captain Steph Catley, who had won her battle for fitness.

Fortunately, Australia’s defence was broken again early in the second half when Clare Hunt was caught in possession by Brand. She freed Alex Popp, whose shot was brilliantly blocked by Alanna Kennedy.

The Australians fell again in the 64th minute from a Gwinn corner, when Schueller was left unmarked to head from six yards out.

Brand was then rewarded for her brilliance when she tapped the ball in four minutes later after a fine team move, initially from keeper Berger, tore the green and gold defence to shreds.

The Germans saw their fourth goal quickly disallowed for offside and threatened to do further damage to the Tillies, who went in vain to find a consolation goal by bringing on Michelle Heyman. Unfortunately, they survived an even worse fate.