So... what to make of the Matildas’ 2-1 defeat to Brazil, the second one in the space of four days?
There can be few complaints. The South Americans were clearly the better side, picking up on the Gold Coast where they left off in Brisbane. They were physical, aggressive, combative but also quick, direct and effective. The Matildas had more of the ball overall and just as many shots on target, but it seemed like the Brazilians were about to score every time they went forward, while their own attacks kept on falling down at critical moments.
Brazil were too good on the night.Credit: Getty Images
The night began in ominous fashion, with interim boss Tom Sermanni forced into a last-minute change with skipper Steph Catley taken out of the starting XI after an injury scare in the warm-up. With Mary Fowler and Sam Kerr absent and Caitlin Foord restricted to just 45 minutes, this clearly wasn’t a full-strength Matildas outfit, but it did provide a good, extended look under the hood.
Brazil is also regenerating after the retirement of a crop of seasoned players, led by the legendary Marta, and the youngsters who have come into their national team look fit to carry on their legacy. The Matildas can only dream of drawing upon such strength and depth in talent. While there are some good prospects emerging in Australia - some of whom, like Sharn Freier, Natasha Prior and Daniela Galic, showed flashes of excellence in the second half - there are big question marks about this team’s outlook once the ‘golden generation’ retires, and whether it is realistic for them to continue to compete for major honours given the pace of investment elsewhere in women’s football.
Until then, they can rely on players like Hayley Raso to get them out of jail on occasion. Raso, a Gold Coast junior, scored just before half-time in a perfect response after Brazil had just made it 2-0. But that was it. Now the European-based players in Sermanni’s squad will go home and the locals will steer the ship in next week’s pair of friendlies against Chinese Taipei - the last matches for the Matildas in 2024, and surely also for Sermanni as coach, with Football Australia’s search for a permanent manager still rolling on in the background.