Nanjing: Continental glory may now be beyond them, but Australia remain just 90 minutes away from a return to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after over a decade in the wilderness.
Not since 2006 have the Young Matildas appeared on the world stage, but a win against host nation China PR in Saturday’s playoff for third will book their ticket to France 2018.
Both teams are recovering from heavy semi-final defeats, but Australian head coach Gary van Egmond believes the prize on offer will have the sides ready to fire.
“I think China are a very good team,” he said. “They’re well prepared, and a very dangerous team with some fast players.”
“I think it’ll be a close match. I don’t think it’ll be like the scores from the semi-finals. We’re pretty evenly matched in a lot of ways, so we’re really looking forward to the challenge and the contest.
“Both teams know what’s on the line – the possibility of a World Cup berth, and both teams won't leave anything in doubt.”
Unbeaten DPR Korea handed Australia a 3-0 loss in their semi-final, with the Aussies making eight changes to the line-up from their previous match, a 5-2 win over Vietnam.
Of Australia’s 11 starters against DPR Korea, six had featured for 10 minutes of game time or less in the tournament, but van Egmond explained the logic behind the decision.
“The main objective for me was looking for what would be the best way to win the game, and the best way was having fresh players," he said.
“And we’ve now given minutes in this tournament to everyone, so anyone who comes in is really well prepared to do the job against China.”
While those personnel changes made life difficult against DPR Korea, it now means a number of Australia’s key players – including all four of their goal scorers in Nanjing – are rested and ready for the crucial clash with the hosts.
China head coach Hesterine de Reus, who relied on more familiar faces in her team’s semi-final, believes Australia’s squad rotation could also have an adverse effect.
“Resting your players can work out to be positive or negative, because by doing it you can break the rhythm,” she said.
“My team had an extra (game to) practice, so yes, they had a little extra rest, but you never know how that will work out.”
The experienced de Reus has ample knowledge of the Australian game.
She was the senior national team’s head coach until April 2014, even coaching van Egmond’s daughter – star midfielder Emily – during her 14-month tenure, and she sees some recognisable qualities in the Young Matildas class of 2017.
“I think their playing style is developing, so they’ve changed their style a little bit,” she said.
“It’s now more players going forward, but it’s the same attitude, the same desire to win, so it will be tough opponents.
“They are – in a positive way – aggressive. They play very fast forward, and they are maybe similar to Uzbekistan (who China beat 2-0) in that they are very tough in defending.”
China’s AFC U-19 Women’s Championship hopes were dashed by a heavy 5-0 loss to Japan, and while a number of their players were visibly disappointed after the match, their head coach is convinced they have moved on.
“I think they are quite okay,” she explained.
If Australia are to end their qualification drought, they will also need to end another, less publicised streak - China have beaten them at the last four editions of the tournament, with the last Australian win coming 11 years ago.
Ally Green is unavailable through injury, but joint top-scorer Remy Siemsen will return from suspension and van Egmond confirmed the fitness of goalkeeper Jada Mathyssen-Whyman, before finally emphasising the importance of securing a place in France.
“It means a lot,” he said. “The issue that we have is that we don’t get a lot of international football. On the whole, really the only time you get international football is when you’re playing tournaments.
“Geography is a little bit against us, so for them to get more exposure at that level, and them seeing what its like at a World Cup is fantastic for those girls, and sometimes that’s the ‘light-bulb moment’ that they need.”
China PR v Australia – AFC U-19 Women’s Championship Head to Head
Year Result Stage Venue 2006 Australia 1-0 China PR Group Stage Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2009 China PR 2-1 Australia Group Stage Wuhan, China PR 2011 China PR 3-1 Australia Round Robin Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2013 China PR 2-1 Australia Round Robin Nanjing, China PR 2015 China PR 2-1 Australia Group Stage Nanjing, China PR
Photos: AFC
Source: the-afc.com