Matildas look to set tone at Cup of Nations ‘dress rehearsal’ for World Cup

T ony Gustavsson possesses an undeniable stage presence. Enthusiastic – almost earnest – he arrives in Matildas camp from the air via umbrella, toes out-turned, ready to dance in dreamed-up settings with a smile and some catchy quotes. Five months before a World Cup for which Australia is still not convinced his national team is adequately prepared, he is in dress-rehearsal mode. “Everything we do now is like a World Cup rehearsal,” Gustavsson said on Wednesday, the eve of the Cup of Nations tournament – effectively a series of friendlies against Czechia, Spain and Jamaica.

Whether the main act turns out to be Mary Poppins or something more like Death of a Salesman remains unknown, even at this late juncture. But the next seven days might at least offer a ‘vibe’. The evidence currently at hand is a mixed 2022: a pretty awful Asian Cup, a 7-0 friendly capitulation to Spain and back-to-back losses against Canada – a World Cup group-stage opponent – followed by a more stirring series of friendly results including a 4-0 win over world No 3 Sweden and 3-1 defeat of Denmark.

If the latter half of the year is to be judged at face value, there may be little to worry about, and Thursday night’s meeting with 28th-ranked Czechia in Gosford constitutes nothing more than a practice run.

“It doesn’t mean the focus is only on winning in that sense, but we need to train the tournament format,” Gustavsson said. “How we close that game out and quickly check into something completely different tactically against Spain, and then the same thing [against Jamaica].

“Every opening game in a tournament is important because it kind of sets the tone for the tournament. We handle this game against Czechia in the same way as if it was [World Cup