Beset by injury and without Sam Kerr, the women’s football team nevertheless have the opportunity to write their own script
had arrived in Marseille ahead of their Olympic opener sans baggage came as a gift. The Australian women’s national team had taken a charter flight on Friday to the southern French city from a team camp in Spain, but important luggage – including personal items and medical equipment – did not journey with them. Initial efforts to repatriate the baggage have proven unfruitful.
Or will the absence of talismanic captain Sam Kerr prove insurmountable – the missing piece left at home due to her ACL injury? Does the logistical mishap portend misfortune to come, a bad omen on the eve of their latest major campaign? Just three days later, on Sunday, Australia will meet Zambia in Nice. It is a poignant venue for the Matildas, where they crashed out of the 2019 World Cup in an agonising penalty shoot-out to Norway. Have they banished those nightmares? On paper, Zambia will represent Australia’s easiest competitor at the tournament – they are ranked 64th, while the Matildas are 12th in the Fifa rankings.
The Olympics may well prove to be the team’s final tournament under the reign of Tony Gustavsson, with the Swedish coach’s contract expiring at the end of the Games. Gustavsson has been linked with other jobs at several times over the past year, and while none have come to fruition, there has been no sign that Football Australia are preparing a major contract extension.
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