The fitness of the Matildas will reportedly be the focus of a comprehensive review following their thumping loss to Germany at the Paris Olympics.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson confessed his team “wasn’t ready” after the shock 3-0 result at a sparsely attended stadium in Marseille.
The Matildas were comprehensively beaten by Germany in their opening pool match.Credit: AP
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The team’s preparation was under intense scrutiny after flagging fitness proved an obvious factor in the drubbing, News Corp reported, with particular focus on its conditioning program.
The review was scheduled to take place at the end of the Olympics and would zero in on conditioning and fitness.
The report cited internal descriptions of the game as a “train wreck” and said there were questions about players taking a break before entering training camp. In contrast, the German players were fresh from competition and full of running.
After the German game, Gustavsson confessed his team was out-classed.
“They were a class better than us tonight. It’s just fact. We need to be real and honest about that. Obviously a bit upset that they scored on two set pieces, which we had planned for exactly … we trained [for] it, we focused on it,” he said.
“Still, they’re good enough to score two on set plays and when they get that 1-0, they manage to get the game to where they want it and sat back and transition on us, and that’s not really what Germany normally do.