Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson wants to play the world’s best ahead of Tokyo 2021 Olympics

Gustavsson has no intention of easing into his new job, saying he wants to line up as many matches against the best possible teams as is feasible in the current conditions.

Football Australia had inked agreements with the USA and Canada last year for a series of friendlies that never got off the ground because of the pandemic.

Part of the deal included games against both of those nations in Australia this year, and sources remain hopeful that they could still happen pre-Olympics.

“As of where we are today, with this team, my opinion is we need to play as many games as possible against the best opposition possible,” said Gustavsson, who was an assistant to former USA coach Jill Ellis during their 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cup wins.

“It’s easy to look at the rankings and say ‘who do I want to play’. I could say, maybe we should have a little bit of a slow start and play opposition that we know we can dominate a little bit more and get good results, a positive vibe as a new coach, buy-in from the players and [media] and not get too criticised.

“But I’ve been around long enough to know if I demand everyone to have a mindset where we want to get one day better … not [just] one day older … I also need to schedule us to get one day better.”

Gustavsson anticipates the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead, despite doubts from players such as Steph Catley, who said earlier this month it felt like a “fantasy” to imagine them proceeding from her perspective in COVID-ravaged London.

In the interim, Gustavsson is prepared to be as creative as possible and think of “outside the box” methods to ensure his players and staff are on board with his vision for the team and as well prepared as possible, having signed a deal that runs through to 2024.

“The No.1 thing for me is player safety and staff safety first. Within that framework, my experience is no matter what tournament you go into, the better prepared you are, the more confident you are,” he said.

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“That can be done even like this [on Zoom] – we can work on everything from digital playbooks to connection, individual player plans, make sure we have a support network established so we can support players when they’re out of our reach at club level. All these things can also be part of preparation.

“I’ve said to the staff and the players now in terms of the world we live in today, I’ve chosen to quote Charles Darwin, who says it’s not the strongest that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives, it’s the ones that are most adaptable to change.”

Gustavsson intends to move permanently to Australia mid-next year, and is keen to learn as much as he can about the history of the country, its football and in particular the Matildas, having lined up a discussion next week with several alumni of the women’s national team.

“I can’t wait to come there,” he said.

“Watching the Sydney Opera House lighting up with the images of [ex-Matildas] players for example, that makes me really want to learn more … but also show the respect for the past and what they’ve done. They’ve paved the way for me to be where I am today and where the game is.”