Tag: Tony Gustavsson

Jill Ellis to U.S. Soccer: If you need a USWNT coach, I know just the guy

Tony Gustavsson has a big backer: former USWNT boss Jill Ellis

The last truly successful U.S. women’s national team coach has an idea for the program’s next step.

Jill Ellis, whose reign from 2014-19 saw the USWNT win two World Cups, says that Australia manager Tony Gustavsson — her top assistant during that run — should be on U.S. Soccer’s shortlist once a seemingly inevitable coaching change comes to pass.

Gustavsson “should definitely be a strong candidate for the [USWNT] job,” Ellis told ESPN in an interview published on Tuesday.

Ellis’ successor Vlatko Andonovski remains in his post on a contract that runs through the rest of 2023. However, after following up a disappointing Olympics with the USWNT’s worst-ever finish at a World Cup, it is widely expected that U.S. Soccer will accelerate that timeline and look for new leadership.

Gustavsson, meanwhile, helped Australia to the country’s first-ever World Cup semifinal, igniting Matildas fever in a country geared towards Aussie Rules football, cricket, and rugby.

Australia’s run at the World Cup ended with a 3-1 defeat against England on Wednesday, but the 50-year-old is reportedly under contract with Football Australia until September 2024.

Ellis: Australia run ‘pretty remarkable’

In the interview, Ellis said that she was particularly impressed with how Gustavsson navigated the injury absence of star striker Sam Kerr. The Australia captain picked up a calf injury just before the World Cup began, and was only able to make one 11-minute appearance in the host nation’s first four games of the tournament.

Given Kerr’s status as arguably the best striker on the planet, and Australia’s lack of out-and-out No. 9 candidates, Ellis said that Gustavsson’s solutions were something to admire.

“I don’t think people are giving him and his staff enough credit for having navigated most of this tournament without arguably one of the best players in the world,” said Ellis. “Most of us as coaches would not have said Australia was even close to being a contender without Kerr, so that’s pretty remarkable what they’ve been able to navigate as a staff.”

More relevant to the USWNT, Gustavsson was a major factor during the Ellis era. The Swede, who rose to prominence in women’s soccer during two seasons in charge of a star-packed Tyresö FF side from 2012-14, was widely seen as the tactician within Ellis’ staff, and famously designed the attacking set pieces that the USWNT seemed to lean on whenever they found themselves in a jam.

Gustavsson found himself under some pressure in recent years, as Australia’s form was not exactly consistent. The Matildas fell 7-0 to Spain, were defeated twice by Canada, and lost a quarterfinal to South Korea in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup (a continental tournament doubling as World Cup qualifying). Had Australia not sealed a World Cup place by being co-host, that defeat would have cost the team a spot in this year’s big event.

However, late last year Australia beat three future World Cup knockout round teams (South Africa, Denmark, and Sweden), and in 2023 managed friendly wins over Spain, England, and France. Even without Kerr, the Matildas won a difficult, physical Group B before eliminating Denmark and France.

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Who’s next? The top candidates to take over as USWNT head coach

The USWNT job will be a hot topic in the months to come

A cruel summer has left the U.S. women’s national team boarding early flights home, and that means change is on the way.

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski spent most of the last two years under increasing pressure thanks to inconsistent performance levels and some iffy results, and the USWNT will in all likelihood be looking for a new coach in the near future.

U.S. Soccer has made no such pronouncement just yet, and Andonovski declined to delve into his future immediately following the his side’s World Cup exit to Sweden, citing a desire to not hijack a moment for his own needs. That’s a prudent choice from a coach who no matter his stumbles, has placed the team’s needs before his own. It might not stoke the news cycle, but holding off on that discussion is the upstanding thing to do.

However, Andonovski’s tenure has included a series of underwhelming performances at the Olympics that ended with bronze instead of gold, and a three-game losing streak that tied the longest such run in USWNT history. That made this summer make-or-break for Andonovski.

As a prominent philosopher once said, you’re only funky as your last cut, and the earliest World Cup exit in this team’s history means that change is a must. There are issues beyond Andonovski’s control, including a long list of injured stars, but the USWNT job is a “no excuses, just win” role. It’s a safe bet that U.S. Soccer will soon be thanking Andonovski for his services and wishing him well in his future endeavors.

In other words, the discussion is already here. U.S. Soccer is surely going to be working on a preliminary list of USWNT coaching candidates before winnowing it down to a shorter list for first interviews, and so on. Within a few months, they should be introducing a new boss.

Here are some of the coaches out there that have the kind of resume the federation will be interested in.

Sam Kerr was never going to play against Canada — and she didn’t need to

The superstar forward has been given an extra week to rest ahead of the knockout round

There were plenty of mind games ahead of Australia’s Group B finale against Canada but after the Matildas hammered the Canadians 4-0, head coach Tony Gustavsson revealed the truth.

In a post-game press conference, Gustavsson said the star striker’s message to her teammates before the game was: “Win without me so I can get another week to train and recover.”

Gustavsson added: “And the team responded and said, ‘Yes we will, you sit on the bench tonight and we will win for you.’”

Kerr missed Australia’s first two matches of a home World Cup, suffering a calf injury in training the day before the opener against Ireland.

After an unconvincing 1-0 win over the Irish was followed by a shock defeat to Nigeria, the Matildas had their backs against the wall for their group finale against Canada.

Australia sent Kerr to face a pre-match press conference, with the 29-year-old declaring herself fit for the Canada match.

There were always going to be questions around Kerr’s actual fitness, however, with Australia incentivized to keep Canada guessing by at least giving the appearance that one of the world’s best strikers would play.

Gustavsson’s words made it clear that Kerr was likely never going to be ready to face the defending Olympic champions. Luckily for the Matildas, she wasn’t needed.

It was an imperious performance from Australia at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, with a first-half double from Hayley Raso setting the tone and second-half goals from Mary Fowler and Steph Catley adding the gloss to a dominant display.

Now Kerr will be given an entire week to rest, with Australia’s last-16 game set for next Monday in Sydney.

Gustavsson said that although Kerr was cleared to play at least some part against Canada, he had a feeling his side may produce a performance that would ensure she wasn’t needed.

“It felt like before the game the players were so convinced they could do it without her,” he said. “We kind of just said, ‘Let’s just focus on that first.’

He added: “You could almost see that conviction and commitment from the players. And having that belief as well as a team without, in my opinion, the best striker in the world, and to still go out and play the fluent football we did and score four goals against the Olympic champions, I think it’s very impressive.”

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