{"id":163679,"date":"2025-02-21T01:42:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T01:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/difficult-to-watch-matildas-torn-to-shreds-over-unacceptable-bloodbath\/"},"modified":"2025-02-21T01:42:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T01:42:00","slug":"difficult-to-watch-matildas-torn-to-shreds-over-unacceptable-bloodbath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/difficult-to-watch-matildas-torn-to-shreds-over-unacceptable-bloodbath\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Difficult to watch\u2019: Matildas torn to shreds over \u2018unacceptable\u2019 bloodbath"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Matildas have been demolished 4-0 by Japan in an absolute humiliation<\/a> in the opening match of the SheBelieves Cup.<\/p>\n

Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.<\/a><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

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In a match between the world No. 8 Japanese and No. 15 Aussies, it looked like it would have been a close match as the Matildas look to put a dire 2024 behind them.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it was a horror show in the Matildas\u2019 first match since December as Asia\u2019s true powerhouse put the Aussies to the sword.<\/p>\n

The result was the biggest ever loss by the Matildas to Japan and should have been much worse with some terrible shots, but what was worse was that the Aussies quite literally didn\u2019t even fire a shot, with no shots on goal throughout the 90 minutes.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \u2018Nowhere near good enough\u2019: Matildas hammered in thumping defeat to old rival <\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

At halftime, the commentators were stunned by the 2-0 deficit, with calls for the Matildas to break out of their malaise.<\/p>\n

Host Tara Rushton said it was \u201cdifficult to watch\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like a team that doesn\u2019t really know where they\u2019re at with each other, and a little bit flat and bereft of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aussie football veteran Andy Harper agreed. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis was beyond less than acceptable. This is nowhere near good enough,\u201d he said on Paramount+. <\/p>\n

\u201cTom Sermanni came in, wanted to build stability with this first game, get off to a winning start. This team knows each other intimately. There\u2019s almost 1000 caps spread across \u2026 this is so far away from being an acceptable first half of football from our national team in a preparation for an Asian Cup which we\u2019re hosting.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Matildas were thrashed by Japan. Photo: Jack Gorman\/Getty Images\/AFP<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former Matilda Grace Gill said the team would have to \u201ctake a good hard look at themselves at halftime\u201d, hitting out at the team\u2019s wasteful first half performance.<\/p>\n

The only half chance the Matildas had a strong ball from Kyra Cooney-Cross that found an off-side Caitlin Foord but there was little else that could be considered a positive from a dire first half.<\/p>\n

Even the Japanese goals were far from screamers with Mina Tanaka scoring off a weak strike after a failed header clearance from Australia.<\/p>\n

The second was little more than a tap in after Clare Hunt and Alanna Kennedy ran into each other.<\/p>\n

And the Matildas were lucky to not be further behind after a near-certain header clanged off the crossbar.<\/p>\n

Gill said the goals were \u201ceasily preventable, easily fixed\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not controlling the ball, it was not settling things down, everything was going Japan\u2019s way,\u201d Gill says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose (Japan) goals are easily defendable \u2026 it\u2019s just defensively poor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like the intensity is not there.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was more of the same in the second half with the third goal five minutes after the break. <\/p>\n

Despite a few positive moments from Japan showed the gulf in class with a sharp passing move giving Maika Hamano the easiest of tap ins.<\/p>\n

At full-time, Harper called it \u201cvery very poor\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisappointing doesn\u2019t really come close to covering it,\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a morning which simply did not work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hayley Raso reacts for the Matildas. Photo by Jack Gorman\/Getty Images<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gill said it exposed the \u201cchasm\u201d between the teams.<\/p>\n

Harper said the loss exposed a hard truth for Australian football.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having the same discussion after a Matildas game against Japan as we have after a men\u2019s game against Japan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a team against another team, this is a system against another system.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile Japan over five, 10, 15 years have made vast progress on a technical level with their players, we sit here sending out national teams out and the chasm between Japan and Australia technically seems to be getting wider, not narrower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans were quick to take aim at the performance, with criticisms focusing on the fact the Matildas still have an interim coach.<\/p>\n

Sport broadcaster Daniel Garb slammed the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a disaster for The Matildas with as strong a side as it can name at present. Heaviest ever loss to Japan. Concerning a year out from a home Asian Cup,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom Sermanni is a great of the women\u2019s game & is not to blame but they\u2019ve got to get a move on with a permanent coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The West Australian\u2019s Ben Smith commented: \u201cOne shot on target. Matildas in dire need of a direction and a coach, because right now they\u2019re just spinning the wheels. Sermanni in a tough spot, but there doesn\u2019t feel like there\u2019s any jeopardy for senior players.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis she believes cup was the perfect time to have a full-time coach in camp with the Matildas. Why there isn\u2019t one yet is insane,\u201d one fan said.<\/p>\n

Another added: \u201cThe Matildas look seriously out of form and poorly organised. They are a metaphor for @FootbalAUS. We have NO coach and the classy Japanese have an Australian assistant coach. We have a thin bench and a porous defence. Reform is an urgent need.\u201d<\/p>\n

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There was nothing to celebrate for the Matildas. Photo by Maria Lysaker\/Getty Images<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking after the game, defender Ellie Carpenter lamented a horrific day at the office.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a bad performance from us and we need to regroup, refocus for the game against the US,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we weren\u2019t all on the same page with the press. But like I said, it wasn\u2019t good enough tonight and we just need to refocus, regroup and focus on the next match.\u201d<\/p>\n

It gets no easier for the Aussies with the Matildas facing hosts and world No. 1 the US on Monday before finishing against Colombia next Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Matildas have been demolished 4-0 by Japan in an absolute humiliation in the opening match of the SheBelieves Cup. Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer. In a match between the world No. 8 Japanese […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[56809,2228,12449,1800,2753,11046,1641,56803,83,1736,21389,7632,56810,56802,13588,6597,16672,1567,12456,56804,56801,1425,56807,15123,5546,56812,5035,56805,13604,22599,1533,1809,1728,7413,52135,44916,7564,5429,56811,56808,52784,1792,56806],"class_list":{"0":"post-163679","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-absolute-humiliation","9":"tag-agence-france-presse","10":"tag-alanna-kennedy","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-andrew-mcmurtry","13":"tag-andy-harper","14":"tag-asia","15":"tag-aussie-football-veteran","16":"tag-australia","17":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","18":"tag-australian-assistant-coach","19":"tag-australian-football","20":"tag-ben-smith","21":"tag-caps-spread","22":"tag-clare-hunt","23":"tag-colombia","24":"tag-daniel-garb","25":"tag-eastern-asia","26":"tag-ellie-carpenter","27":"tag-facing-hosts","28":"tag-failed-header-clearance","29":"tag-getty-images-inc","30":"tag-home-asian","31":"tag-horror-show","32":"tag-interim-coach","33":"tag-jack-gorman","34":"tag-japan","35":"tag-japanese-goals","36":"tag-matilda-grace-gill","37":"tag-mina-tanaka","38":"tag-north-america","39":"tag-northern-america","40":"tag-oceania","41":"tag-opening-match","42":"tag-permanent-coach","43":"tag-positive-moments","44":"tag-senior-players","45":"tag-south-america","46":"tag-sport-broadcaster","47":"tag-tap-ins","48":"tag-time-offer","49":"tag-united-states-of-america","50":"tag-vast-progress"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}