Why Tony Gustavsson didn’t use Matildas’ specialist penalty taker Kyah Simon against France despite their World Cup campaign being on the line
Of all the storylines that emerged from penalties eventually pushing Australia into a semi-final against England, one in particular had football fans scratching their heads: Why wasn’t Matildas star Kyah Simon called up to take a penalty?
It is a role that seemed to be perfect for her at this World Cup.
Like a pinch-hitter in baseball, one of the main reasons the 32-year-old made the squad is her skill at taking penalty kicks during shootouts.
Many fans were surprised when Simon (pictured, centre, at Matildas training) didn’t play as the game against France went to a penalty shootout
Simon (in jersey 17) patrolled the sideline hoping for a chance to play against France, but was shut out by coach Tony Gustavsson despite her penalty kick expertise
Simon is like a bomb disposal expert for the target. She rarely makes mistakes and Gustavsson must have been tempted to send her off after the two periods of extra time had expired with the scores still tied at zero.
After all, he had chosen Simon, who has been battling an ACL injury since October, in this 23-man roster as a player who could be a game changer late in games.
“There are a lot of players on that bench ready to come on,” Gustavsson explained at his post-match press conference.
‘What are your plans at such a time? And you saw how it went, like the last three or four minutes, we weren’t sure of extra time until the very last minute… it was four extra minutes.
“We wanted to make some important decisions then, if they score, what do we do to score? If we score, how can I close the game? Because it can happen in a split second.
“And because it was so tight and Kyah has had limited playing time, I wanted to wait until the very last second to bring her in and I didn’t think the pause to bring her in was the right one.”
Gustavsson made three crucial substitutions in the game, bringing on Sam Kerr, Cortnee Vine and Tameka Yallop.
Tameka Yallop (pictured) was brought in to play the last few minutes and had a penalty for Simon – and she didn’t disappoint
All three scored from the spot in their chances to send their team through to Wednesday’s knockout match against England.
Simon was probably next if the gunfight had continued.
“Kyah was ready for a penalty,” Gustavsson confirmed.
“I think in a game like this when you’re working in my head with all the thoughts… it’s hard.
“Sometimes you’re right, sometimes you’re wrong.
“We had her on the side and in the tech room ready to come and it was the same with Clare Polkinghorne.”