Injury concerns mount as Matildas fall to late Canada strike in final Olympics tune-up

The key image from Australia’s 2-1 defeat to Canada on Saturday evening in Spain – the final warm-up before the teams head to the Paris Olympics – probably wasn’t captured on the field of play. The sight of Caitlin Foord, caught by cameras early on in the contest sitting in the stands with an ice pack strapped to her quadricep, was the most arresting.

Just 11 days from the Matildas’ Olympic opener against Germany in Marseille on 25 July, Foord has become the latest in what is a lengthening number of injury headaches for coach Tony Gustavsson. The key attacker was withdrawn from the starting XI for the friendly hit-out in Marbella after feeling tightness in her upper leg. “All focus is on players [being] available,” for the Games was the word from a Football Australia spokesperson.

It was already known heading into this game that Steph Catley and Kaitlyn Torpey would not take part, with both ruled out with lower leg injuries. Then it was revealed that utility Tameka Yallop and back-up goalkeeper Teagan Micah would also be absent; the former suffered a minor impact injury to her leg in training, while the latter was still rehabilitating from an ankle injury brought into camp. Then came news that Foord had not made it through the warm-up. It was not exactly ideal preparation ahead of a major tournament and added some trepidation to the normally routine sight of players icing and strapping various limbs after being substituted off.

Foord’s late replacement in the lineup, Sharn Freier, got on the scoresheet with a first-half goal that was subsequently wiped out by Nichelle Prince just before half-time. Evelyne Viens then netted a late winner for Canada in the 85th minute. Set up by Mary Fowler, Freier’s effort was the only shot officially credited to the Australians until the final moments of the game, while Canada had 19 at the other end. However, all but six of those were off-target, as the Matildas, in keeping with a pre-game focus of Gustavsson, did a decent job of keeping their opponents from finding space behind them.

Indeed, for all their side’s control of possession and territory, Canada were frustrated by failing to create clear-cut opportunities: Prince’s opener came after Mackenzie Arnold uncharacteristically spilled a wayward Cloé Lacasse effort and Viens’ winner arrived after both sides had emptied their benches.

Gustavsson was relatively happy with his side’s defending from open play, and he singled out Clare Wheeler, who started at left-back in place of Catley, for praise but was left somewhat frustrated going the other way.

“I don’t think we created enough,” said Gustavsson. “We normally create a lot of chances when we play and I don’t think we did that tonight. We had some really good build-up sequences when we got into the final third but then that action of breaking that last line, we normally see us being better at that. Is that connected with fatigue? Is it the final pass? Is it a lack of running behind? I want to create more. I want to attack. So I don’t think we’ve created enough tonight.”

But whatever comes from the game – the Matildas didn’t look like medal contenders but these B internationals are usually not broadcast and don’t mean much in a vacuum – little will obfuscate the major storyline of Foord’s status. In Sam Kerr’s ongoing absence with an ACL injury, the Arsenal star is one of, if not the key attacking force for the Matildas; she is not only capable of winning a game with a single flash of brilliance but also serves as a driving force and reference point for her side both with and without the ball when they look to attack.

Just as is the case with Gunners teammate Catley, lingering concerns will now hover as the Matildas set out in search of an elusive medal in Paris, and beyond general references to load management and peaking, Gustavsson was not definitive when asked about Foord’s status.

It was around this time last year that the eyes of the world turned to Kerr’s calf during the Women’s World Cup, when the Matildas camp engaged in a series of smokescreens surrounding the health of the captain in the lead-in to the game against Ireland and beyond.

It’s the kind of theatricality and deception that is fair game when one goes in search of a competitive advantage at a major tournament. But it also ensures that, regardless of what is said in the coming week and a half about the status of the Matildas’ growing injury contingent, there will be no surety about their status until that opening game of the Games.