The Matildas tend to see everything as being the best of times, even if it means lying in a hotel room in China trying to fight off a nasty stomach ailment. The Aussies are counting on that positive outlook to be one factor in their accomplishing a first at the FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 2003.

“We would certainly like to get into the quarter-finals,” said Australia coach Adrian Santrac. “We have yet to win a game in the World Cup, so that is where we need to start, but we want to do a little more than that.”

The Australians come into USA 2003 after completing a gruelling four-week, three-continent tour that saw them change flights almost as often as they changed time zones. Santrac said all the flying, coupled with a mystery illness that hit 24 out of 28 members of the team in China still could not damper his squad’s spirits.

“We’ve got a group where the mood is particularly light,” Santrac said. “We all have our serious moments but there is always someone to crack a joke even though we’ve had some hard times. There is light-heartedness among everyone, so we all tend to stay relaxed and calm. It’s a good group.”

Down about England

The mood was somewhat less-than-light on 4 September when Australian played England for the first time ever in women’s football. The English scored just 21 seconds into the match and held on to claim a 1-0 victory. Santrac said that loss hit the team particularly hard.

“We were all very disappointed we didn’t get the result we wanted against England,” Santrac said. “It’s more than just the fact that in the history books it will say the one game we’ve played went to England. We really didn’t play up to the standard we’ve set for ourselves.”

Santrac said he thought his many of his players were mentally still in China when they took on England. “We were also a bit tired and jet-lagged,” he said. “They went out and took a softer approach than we normally do. The players collectively spent the match chasing, especially after we allowed that goal just 21 seconds in.”

Despite the loss and the disjointed play, Santrac said the Matildas created more than enough chances to score. “We simply missed our opportunities,” he said. The same thing happened against Scotland two days later, except the Aussies got the win. Santrac said both matches taught his players a valuable lesson.

“You have to seize the moment when it comes,” he said. “They saw that against England. We were unlucky not to be on the scoreboard by the end of the first half. We simply didn’t capitalise on our opportunities. We have to seize those opportunities at the World Cup. Once those three games are over, they’re gone. We won’t get another chance.”

”Spectacular success requires spectacular preparation”

The Australians should have a loud and boisterous following at home throughout USA 2003. Santrac said Australia has a long history of sporting success and the Matildas want to add to that history.

“Australians as a nation always expect success,” Santrac said. “The national expectation is our teams will win. I think it’s a good thing. Australia has achieved some incredible results at high levels in many different sports. It’s generally a good thing, but the underlying fact is that is really important to be prepared. Spectacular success requires spectacular preparation.”

Santrac also said the fact Australia has yet to win a World Cup match is something his players plan to address at USA 2003.

“We have yet to win a game in any major tournament,” he said. “We need to win. Group C and Group D are really wide open. Everyone is probably putting their money on China to win the group, so second place can go any of the other three teams. Of course, we aren’t about to concede anything to China. We intend to contest every game just as hard as we can.

“In the end it’s all about results,” Santrac added. “If we play three exceptional games and still lose, we still can’t look at it as a success. In the end it really is all about results, and we’re here to win.”

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