Matildas v Chile

[Brenton T]

Excellent game last evening (second half was sensational). Chile may be suffering the onset of Jet lag and travel. Given their first outing against the Matildas this may something to do with their performance. Excellent result and well done.

I reflect on the team and cast my eye over the Matildas over the last 10-5 years and SA is still under represented. Even with Chidiac in the team, I cannot see where we as a soccer state are producing the player that I believe would equal what I see in the team today and those of the past.

Do the forumites believe that the current pathway is sufficient and geared up to produce players that can make the Matildas squad longer term? If yes how?

[WPLFAN]

We're nowhere near the standard played on the the east coast. But it's not to do with our pathways. It's simply the numbers. There are 20 Million people living on the east coast. Adelaide still has a population of less than a million. We haven't grown in population for 20 years. That's why we shouldn't set up the same competition structure here as interstate, we don't have the depth of players to support it. This is why Premier League/State League structure hasn't worked. The proposed new structure may work better.

[Lucas Leiva]

SA has produced 6 youth internationals in the last 2-3 years, of which two have had senior caps with the Matildas. I would say those numbers are worth being proud of when you compare the size of our women's competitions and player pool compared to the WNPL competitions along the east coast.

I think our pathway program has done a great job up until this point and if they keep a clear and defined objective of developing elite players for the next phase of their career then we can be confident those numbers will continue to grow.

Each coach will have a different type of player that he looks for, and with Stajcic at the moment you can see that he has a particular characteristic for particular positions. If the player fits they will get the opportunity. He also created the academy operation in Sydney to improve those coming through, and whilst that may also be underrepresented by players from non-NSW locations I'm sure that will change if the program remains federally funded through to 2023.

[juniorsupporter]

I agree Lucas- the youth international representation number actually doubles if you go back 4 years- not to mention other players who were called into camp but not selected.... and the pyramid gets pointier as you go up, meaning fewer and fewer players are able to represent at the next level as there are fewer spots and they don't turn over much over time. Such limited opportunity.

To get a clear picture of whether SA is underrepresented, you'd need a per capita representation number and compare that to the more populous states. straight number figure doesn't give a clear picture.

As I've watched the FFSA development program over time, the degree of success depends very much on who the coaches are- the program's resources haven't changed much over time, the players still have to pay to be in it (which I think is ridiculous). I think it would be helpful to have a separate female technical director, someone really invested in the female side of things. But that's just one person's opinion.

Well done to the Matildas for their dominant performance Tuesday night- and good job Alex Chidiac, who I thought really made an impact.