The Matildas have lost their final warm-up game to defending gold medallists Canada 2-1 just 12 days out from their first Olympic group game against Germany.
A debut goal to Sharn Frier, who was called into the starting side after a last-minute withdrawal of Caitlin Foord from the warm-up, was the brightest spark in an otherwise fatigued performance, with a Mackenzie Arnold error and some sloppy defending handing Canada the win in Spain.
Head coach Tony Gustavsson had flagged earlier in the week that his players would come into this match tired, having pushed them through double sessions during the past ten days of heavy training.
And they played as expected, lacking energy and sharpness on the ball in the opening 20 minutes, and regularly losing out to the more physical and hungry Canadians. Striker Adrianna Leon and winger Cloe Lacasse were particularly dangerous, finding space in behind Australia's back-line and rocketing off a few crosses and shots that had to be saved by Arnold.
Gustavsson was forced to adjust his starting line-up after injuries to captain Steph Catley and Kaitlyn Torpey kept them sidelined, with Cortnee Vine and Clare Wheeler coming into the side alongside the debutant Frier, while Katrina Gorry got her first minutes for Australia after a few months recovering from ankle surgery.
Wheeler was a particular stand-out, proving her versatility at left-back in the absence of Catley before slotting into midfield in place of Gorry in the second half, and rarely put a foot wrong in either position.
However, both Vine and Frier struggled to create opportunities going forward, with the Matildas regularly losing the ball after being suffocated by Canada's high-energy press.
The few half-chances that did fall their way came on the counter-attack, capitalising on a Canada error before bursting forward at speed. Vine in particular had a few runs in behind Canada's defence down the right, pulling apart their deeper players to create space in behind.
It was this space that Mary Fowler exploited in the 23rd minute when she pounced on a loose ball and took off towards the top of the box before squaring for Frier, who turned her defender neatly before shooting low and hard into the far corner of the net for her first Australian goal.
Conscious of player loads and preparing their bodies for the gruelling tournament ahead, Gustavsson made several substitutions over the course of the match, trying and testing several players and tactical structures that the team needed to rehearse.
Due to the game's status as an international 'B' fixture, both sides had unlimited substitutions and many more windows in which to make them, allowing Gustavsson to empty his entire 18-player bench, including a first senior appearance for young centre-back Winonah Heatley, who was called into camp late as an injury back-up, though is not part of the 22-player Matildas squad for Paris.
With the camera regularly zooming in on the Australian bench in lieu of a crowd, multiple players including Foord, Kennedy, and Gorry could be seen with ice packs around various body parts, though Gustavsson said most player situations are precautionary, with the aim for everybody to be fit and firing for the opening group match against Germany, not today's friendly against Canada.
"First of all, I think it's important that we put everything in perspective," he said afterwards.
"We have planned for a very long time what we want to do in this camp to make sure that we peak physically and mentally against Germany: it's all about that opening game.
"We have also trained very hard so we came into this game fatigued, and I appreciate the [cooperation] from Canada around subs and such so that we could use this game in a little bit of a different way than we normally do in a FIFA window.
"We wanted to prepare to play with heavy legs, where it's difficult to focus, you might not have the power in your lungs.
"We're always an aggressive team that plays with lots of energy, but in an Olympic tournament with such a tight turn-around between games, you know you're gonna have to play with fatigue at times, and learning to play with fatigue was also part of this game.
"Finally, when it comes to the performances of individual players, we wanted to test players who needed minutes, because we [may] need them all come Olympics, and the final thing is to protect some players that we have."
Having muscled their way back into the game towards the end of the first half, a horror Mackenzie Arnold error then handed Canada an equaliser, spilling a regulation catch into the feet of Nichelle Prince, who tapped home.
The Matildas could have scored again after a storming run by Wheeler saw her receive the ball in acres of space in Canada's penalty area, but her attempted square pass trickled past all her team-mates and went out for a goal-kick instead.
Gustavsson made five changes at half-time, taking off captain Ellie Carpenter, Gorry, Vine, Kennedy, and Raso, and bringing on Charli Grant, Emily Van Egmond, Michelle Heyman, Clare Polkinghorne, and Courtney Nevin for the second stanza.
Canada used the opportunity of multiple substitution windows to throw on several fresh legs, too, and head coach Bev Priestman's rotation ultimately paid off as two substitutes Jordyn Huitema and Evelyn Viens combined, pouncing on some sloppy Matildas defending in the box to slam home the winner.
Australia take on Germany on July 26 at 3:00am AEST, with all the action from their Olympic campaign captured live and free on the ABC Sport liveblogs.
Check out how this morning's game unfolded below.
SHARN FRIER GETS HER FIRST GOAL FOR AUSTRALIA!
It was totally against the run of play, too. Mary Fowler pounced on some sloppy Canada possession and charged towards the top of the box before squaring left for Frier.
The Brisbane Roar winger stood up to Ashley Lawrence, feinting one way and then another, putting the ball on her left boot and hammering it low and hard across goal and into the net.
1-0!
Thanks for joining me on the blog this morning!
I'll have a match report up shortly, but it's important to note that this result isn't as disastrous as it may seem from the headlines. Remember: the Matildas are practising a bunch of things we don't know about, and winning this game wasn't their priority.
Paris is. And speaking of the Olympics, I'll be back here to blog every Matildas game across the Games, starting with the first group-stage match against Germany on July 26 from 2:30am AEST.
So get your coffee pots ready, fam. It's gonna be a sleep-deprived few weeks.
LoadingThe Matildas looked somewhat listless during the match and were lucky to have Sharn Freier score in the first half, hopefully we can step up for the game against Germany when our Olympic campaign gets underway and injuries to key players aren't that serious.
- Adam
Great game from Frier so far. Should boost her confidence. ⚽️
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