The honeymoon is over for the Matildas with fans turning on the national women’s side for barely scraping past lowly Zambia in a stunning result at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday.
After being pumped 3-0 by Germany, it was a must-win clash for the Tillies and they dug themselves into a massive 5-2 hole against the 63rd-ranked nation to leave their Olympic campaign on life support.
However, a combination of some astute changes, a lift in intensity and a series of awful gaffes by the Zambian goalkeeper got the Matildas out of jail in a frenetic 6-5 result.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever covered a more chaotic, emotional or unhinged game of football. I still don’t know how the Matildas survived,’ broadcaster Lucy Zelić posted.
While the win keeps them alive, fans are questioning what is wrong with the side that has looked flat compared to the efforts that earned them their historic fourth-place finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup last year.
And they didn’t mince their words.
‘Matildas are embarrassing. Why enter the Olympics not match fit?’ one asked.
‘Matildas now celebrating just beating Zambia – after a comeback – is not encouraging … is there something wrong in the squad?’ another questioned.
‘They won 6-5 against a team they should’ve beaten 6-0 due to the pedestal they are on. [goalkeeper Mackenzie] Arnold had a shocker, we are just lucky their keeper had a worse game,’ pointed out another fan.
Yet another posted, ‘I love the Tillies but their game this morning was dreadful and rightfully criticised.’
A win is a win, but the Matildas surrendered five goals before clicking into gear and stealing a vital victory against Zambia
Zambia’s Racheal Kundananji (front) and Barbra Banda (not pictured) punched holes in the Matildas defence at will in the first half
The look on Matildas star Ellie Carpenter’s face says it all in a match the Aussies should’ve won easily instead of being put under intense pressure by the Zambians
Even Matildas coach Tony Gustavvson was blunt in his appraisal of the match.
‘This was one of the craziest games we’ve ever played,’ Gustavsson said.
‘I mean how many times have these players done that, this is not the time to dwell about how we conceded five goals because obviously that was s**t.’
Socceroos legend Robbie Slater agreed with the criticism and warned that improvement would have to come against the United States if the Matildas are to advance.
‘Let’s not sugarcoat things too much,’ he wrote in his News Corp column.
‘If it wasn’t for the poor Zambian goalkeeper, the Matildas would have lost.
‘Now it’s up to them to use that rub of the green to ensure this Olympics campaign doesn’t go down in history as shambolic.’
Slater pointed to the Matildas’ slow start at the Tokyo Games, where they just scraped into the knockout stage before beating Great Britain in the quarters, before losing 1-0 in the semis against Sweden as proof they could recover.
‘The Australians must fix up a host of problems to emulate that feat,’ he wrote.
‘The amount of space they gave not only Zambia, but Germany as well in their 3-0 loss last week, was alarming.’
Aussie football fans did not miss the Matildas, slamming them for their performances so far at the Paris Olympics
However, Australian football legends Craig Foster and Mark Bosnich were more glowing in their assessment of the Matildas and their efforts to come from behind and win in the goalfest.
Foster wrote on social media: ‘Craziest game ever. Gutsiest performance. Talk about never say die. Unbelievable.’
Bosnich detailed the improvements the Matildas had made after their 3-0 loss to Germany.
‘Most amazing game in women’s football history and one of the most amazing games I’ve ever witnessed anywhere,’ he said.
‘To be fair to the Tillies, you have to say that they played far better than they did against Germany. Still not, nowhere near their best. But they thought that they were set up far better.
‘Hayley Raso in the first half being wide on one side and Caitlin Foord on the other gave them so much more width.’
Even Matildas coach Tony Gustavvson said that conceding five goals was ‘s**t’
‘It’s so good to be on the winning side in those entertaining games,’ Bosnich continued.
‘There comes a time in your sport when you stare down the abyss of what really is a nightmare and the whole world’s watching, you’ve got two choices.
‘You can fly away and cower and sort of say you know, look that’s it … or you can fight back.
‘And the Matildas, boy did they fight back.’
