Some stars may retire but a new generation just as exciting is on the rise. Whether Tony Gustavsson remains coach is another question entirely.
Sometimes it takes a respected outsider to convey what others can already see. “Now Australia, they have to take the next step,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman. “How can Australia now grow the game?”
Kerr was referencing the need for funding to grow the local game, but she could have just as easily been referencing what this tournament has meant for her team. So, what was learned throughout the campaign, and what comes next? Tony Gustavsson straight-batted a question about his future with the Matildas but captain Sam Kerr is not going anywhere.This team may, within the next four-year cycle, find itself in transition, with a number of veterans due to retire at some point. Among them is 31-year-old midfield gun Katrina Gorry, who said after her 100th cap on Wednesday that the veterans were probably hurting the most because “we don’t really have another World Cup in us”.
The Matildas ham it up for the cameras at a training session in Brisbane on Friday before their third-place playoff against Sweden.But there are others, too, who barely made it off the bench. Alex Chidiac is only 24 and already something of a cult fan figure because of her aggressive attacking style, while 21-year-old Charli Grant is an adept full-back with a big future.
“We’ve got lots of young players on our team,” Kerr said on Friday. “You look at the young ones [like] Mary and Ellie, and you think ‘oh God, we’re in a really good place here’. And then you look at the other end and you think ‘oh, we could lose a few’.“But there’s probably 10 or 12 players out there we’ve never heard of who will be at the next World Cup, and that’s really exciting.
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