The truth about the Australian women’s national soccer team’s 7-0 loss to “15-year-old boys”
Men and women have met each other many times in football matches. However, the ones highlighted the most are those whose scores are unbalanced. Women’s football is still growing. They have faced many failures throughout history.
One of those highlighted matches is the crushing defeat of the Australian women’s national football team, aka the Matildas. They were defeated 7–0 by Newcastle Jets’ under-15 boys in a practice match ahead of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. For many people, there is still a question mark regarding the match. Let us know what actually happened.
Did the Australian women’s national soccer team lose to 15-year-old boys?
In May 2016, the Matildas took to the football field to face the Newcastle Jets under-15 team. The Jets is an A-League-based soccer club. Why did Matilda have to take such a step? Well, it is said that there was not enough competition within their gender for the Australian women’s team at that time. They had to advance against men’s football teams.
However, in a major setback ahead of the Olympics in 2016, the Matildas suffered a 7-0 defeat to the Newcastle Jets under-15 team.
At that time the Australian team was ranked fifth in the FIFA rankings. They failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Olympics in London. The last time Matilda played in the Olympics was in Greece in 2004. In 2004 they lost in the quarterfinals. After a hiatus of more than a decade, the Matildas were preparing to explode in Rio, but a devastating defeat ended their hopes.
Matilda suffered a major setback as it was said that a group of schoolchildren had insulted her. Let us tell you that the Australian team took it as a friendly match and rotated its team. However, they showed intent by starting their AFC Player of the Year, Katarina Gory.
The Australian women’s national team regularly plays against teenagers.
As Matilda began her preparations for the Rio Olympics, she faced the unusual circumstance of not being able to compete within her country. They usually prepare by playing friendly matches against the youth teams of A-League clubs.
Reports suggest that they suffered a 2-2 draw against another youth team just days before the defeat against Newcastle Jets. Additionally, there were rumors that he faced another hurdle against the Sydney FC youth team. However, there was no confirmation of that story.
How did the world react to Matilda’s humility?
Matildas assistant coach and Newcastle Jets academy director Gary van Egmond claimed he did not expect such a result. According to Huffington Post Australia, in an interview he said, “To be honest, we didn’t expect this. But the Jets boys were very good. All credit goes to him. He moved the ball very well and had an outstanding performance that night. ,
Furthermore, he said, “I think there were some contributing factors to the defeat. At this stage of their preparation, the Matildas are obviously in no condition to play regular games, so I would suggest that all and sundry players were a little rusty. The game may have been easier for us, but we definitely want to keep testing the girls. The Matildas will be the only football representative for Australia at the Olympics.
Yes, this will happen-
“Australia’s national women’s soccer team has suffered a devastating defeat ahead of the Rio Olympics – losing 7-0 to the Newcastle Jets under-15 boys’ team.”
“World Cup-winning U.S. women’s team suffers setback with 5-2 loss to FC Dallas U-15 boys team”
– TonyPandy Gr.School (@TonyPandy51) 22 July 2022
Australian head coach Alan Stajcic was astonished by the score line. In an interview after the match he said, “In all these experiences, you get to learn about the team, and you get to learn about things you can work on and improve on, and that was definitely the case last night. “
The result was not well received by Australian football fans. Although it shows great potential in the men’s youth team, it has completely condemned the women’s team. Fans reacted extremely negatively on social media, highlighting how poor the standard of Australian women’s football has become.
How did the Australian women’s team perform at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro?
With much being said about Matilda and their defeat against the teenagers, the women did not buckle under the pressure. In the group stage they faced Germany, Canada and Zimbabwe. In their first match they had to face a 2-0 defeat against Canada. In a match where they could not afford to lose, they drew 2–2 against Germany. Future star Sam Kerr was on the scoreline that day.
Furthermore, their match against Zimbabwe asked them to win by a big margin. Matilda did the same and won 6–1 against Zimbabwe.
Australia qualified as the best third-place team in the group stages. Australia faced a dangerous Brazil team in the knockout stage. After a 0–0 draw, Australia and Brazil went to penalties. Home team Brazil won the match 7–6 on penalties.
In an extraordinary turn of events, Germany, who drew against Australia, won the entire tournament. Germany won the gold medal in 2016 by defeating Sweden in the final.
What stops women’s football from becoming as popular as men’s football?
As we all know, men’s football is much more famous than women’s football all over the world. Overall, as we know, the FIFA Men’s World Cup has the highest viewership. Football is also the most popular sport in the world as it is watched by billions of people. However, why doesn’t women’s football get the same respect and access?
The total prize pool for Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup is $440 million – but the winning team does not get the full reward. Here’s how much the World Cup winner will get.
Sumber: Kuwait Times pic.twitter.com/Os5BtpAeKi
– Khairulamirin Khabir (@alfaqir_khair) 23 December 2022
It is believed that women’s football is still in its early stages. Historically, men’s football has never faced the resistance that women’s football has. nMany countries around the world supported women’s football until recent times. Although in 2024, there are 211 men’s and women’s football teams affiliated with FIFA, many countries do not have a women’s team.
Countries including San Marino, Yemen, Montserrat and Somalia are affiliated with their continental confederations, but do not have an official women’s football team.
How do numbers matter?
Moreover, the numbers are also odd. Availability and opportunities for women’s football have always been less than for men. Considering the latest statistics from the latest World Cup – 2022 Men’s World Cup winners Argentina earned $42 million as winners. The total prize pool included $440 million.
The total prize pool of the 2023 Women’s World Cup was 1/4 of the men’s. However, the prize pool of $110 million was $80 million more than the previous edition.
Pay is an issue for every player. As we all know, there have been many rumors about equal pay for men and women in sports. However, that still seems a long way off. There is a huge salary gap between the highest paid MLS player and the highest paid NWSL player. In 2024, Lionel Messi, playing for Inter Miami, will make more than $1 million a week and Maria Sanchez, the highest-paid NWSL paydayer, will make nearly $1.5 million over three years.
What makes a big difference in the game for both genders is history. Considering their participation in the Olympics, men’s football event was included in the Olympics in 1900, meanwhile, women’s football was included in the Olympics in 1996.
