Olympics offer Matildas’ golden generation a golden chance – baggage or not

For those in the business of divining metaphors and adding meaning to everyday eventualities – journalists, say – news that the Matildas 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.

No doubt the problem will soon be resolved; Australian chef de mission Anna Meares told the media on Monday that mission-critical items were being purchased in Marseille while the team awaited their baggage. The hiccup is more minor annoyance than serious obstacle; it is unlikely to materially impact the players when they face Germany on Thursday evening (3am AEST).

But as a metaphor, the idea of a baggage-less Matildas offers two alternative visions for how Australia’s Olympic campaign might play out. Free from the burden of a home World Cup, and the weight of expectations that followed them through their historic semi-final run last year, could this be a golden moment for the Matildas’ golden generation? Could it be that relative underdog status allows the team to thrive?

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?

The first signs will be visible at the Stade Vélodrome on Thursday. The Matildas will face a German team that won the 2016 Olympics and finished second at the 2022 European championships, but failed to progress beyond the group stage at last year’s World Cup. That unexpected outcome should not mask the challenge presented, though – Germany are ranked No 4 in the world and have quality across the park (albeit a recent injury to Bayern Munich midfield dynamo Lena Oberdorf will hurt them).

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. But captain Barbra Banda can prove devastating with her forward movement, and the team recovered from two heavy losses at last year’s World Cup to beat Costa Rica in their final match.

The group stage will conclude the following Wednesday, with the team’s most difficult encounter – against four-time Olympic champions the United States. Although the Americans are no longer the all-defeating wonder team of the 2010s, the Matildas have only beaten them once in history – in 2017. The teams played out a nil-all draw in the group stage at the last Olympics, before the Americans won a pulsating bronze medal match 4-3.

With just three groups and 12 teams, women’s football at the Olympics is always unpredictable. That two of the best third place finishers in the group stage progress provides a safety net – it seems unlikely, although not unimaginable, that the Matildas do not at least reach the quarter-final.

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.

The Paris Games will also begin a transition phase for the Matildas’ golden generation. Seven members of the 18-strong squad in Paris are over 30 – Mackenzie Arnold, Katrina Gorry, Tameka Yallop, Emily van Egmond, Steph Catley, Michelle Heyman and Clare Polkinghorne – while Alanna Kennedy and Caitlin Foord are both 29. Not all of these stalwarts are retiring imminently, but the squad will begin to evolve in the year ahead. This may be the final chance at Olympic glory for a core group that has defined Australian football for so long.

Just as the Matildas’ baggage woes offers alternative metaphors for their time in France, the team’s recent results at major tournaments have been subject of divergent interpretation. Both in Tokyo, and on home soil, the Matildas finished fourth – their best-ever results at the Olympics and World Cup respectively. The team arrives in Marseille on an unprecedented run of success on and off the pitch; they have sold out 14 consecutive home games and are among Australia’s most-loved national teams.

But their performances at last year’s World Cup were unconvincing, aside from a comprehensive win over Canada. Injury woes have beset the team’s Olympic warm-up, with the number of ice packs on display during a friendly against earlier this month enough to send chills down the spines of Matildas’ faithful. And the absence of Sam Kerr leaves major unanswered questions – can Heyman turn back the clock? Will Mary Fowler have her long-awaited breakthrough tournament?

Australia has never won a major global football tournament; the Matildas’ Asian Cup triumph in 2010 is their biggest achievement to date. The Paris Olympics offer a golden chance for a golden generation of Matildas to finally win an Olympic medal. Baggage or not, can these Matildas take off?