Thorough planning gives Matildas best shot yet at reclaiming Asian Cup

A lot has changed for the Matildas in the 12 years since they last held the title of Asia's best women's football team.

They've slowly climbed up the FIFA world rankings to become a mainstay in the top 10, including reaching an all-time high of fourth in 2017.

Their most recognisable players have played for some of football's biggest and most-storied clubs: Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Sevilla, Manchester City, Olympique Lyonnais, Atletico Madrid.

They've developed a striker — Sam Kerr — who will almost certainly go down in history as one of the best the game has ever seen.

And they've become one of the most-loved and most-popular sports teams in the country, regularly breaking attendance and viewing records in stadiums and on television.

Despite all of that, the Matildas' trophy cabinet has remained noticeably empty. In fact, outside of friendly tournaments, it hasn't been opened since that first Asian Cup title in 2010.

Why?

That's the question that head coach Tony Gustavsson has ultimately been hired to answer.

Like a research student in the first year of their candidacy, Gustavsson has spent the past 12 months poring over the Matildas' history, separating key stats and figures from the emotion and the narratives that have arguably begun to warp the nation's expectations of this iconic team.

«We haven't won [the Asian Cup] since 2010,» Gustavsson told media when announcing the squad last week.

«And we asked ourselves: 'Why?'

»If you look at the stats against Japan [who defeated Australia in both of the last two Asian Cup finals], and you look at competition — not friendlies — we've only succeeded in winning against them once in 11 years. One win in 11 years.

«And it's not just Japan that stands on the other side, but that has