Tony Gustavsson has urged his players to embrace the intense pressure surrounding the Matildas, describing it as a “privilege” which proves there is surging interest in the team’s fortunes.

But the energetic Swede has vowed not to derail his team from a process he says is designed to give them the best possible chance of lifting the 2023 Women’s World Cup - simply for the sake of a short-term confidence booster against Brazil on Saturday night.

Gustavsson lashed his players for a lack of hunger and desire last month when they fell to a surprise 3-2 defeat to Ireland, bringing their record under his short reign to two wins, two draws and eight losses.

Then came Lisa De Vanna’s allegations of a toxic culture within women’s football, which have rocked the sport and added another layer of difficulty and distraction to their two-match friendly series against Brazil.

Gustavsson, a former schoolteacher, fronted the press via Zoom on Friday and even reached for a nearby whiteboard to help him answer a question on how he has managed to keep his team’s focus on the field.

He drew a large circle, signifying external pressure, and a smaller one inside of it, representing the team’s internal pressure. In between the two circles, he said, was the “performance zone”, where the air is thin and the landscape challenging for players to navigate - but it’s where he said the world’s top teams do their best work.

“What I’m trying to do is explain to players and staff is if you genuinely want to be the team that can lift that trophy in ’23, we need to get used to performing under pressure, and look at pressure as a privilege, because that means there’s a lot of interest in our team ... that’s a good thing,” he said.

Gustavsson acknowledged the Matildas weren’t where they needed or wanted to be at this point in their development, but he said that didn’t necessarily mean they were in a bad place - despite having only two international windows before their next major tournament, the Asian Cup in January.