Australia 6-5 Zambia… yes, you read that right. An instant classic that had everything as the Matildas edge past Banda-inspired Zambia in a thrilling goalfest. We break down four things we learnt on a special night in Nice.

Defending, who is she?

One of the most entertaining matches in Olympic history, each side played their part in an Olympic festival of goals. Defending was at a premium in this one, with forty seven shots on goal and eleven goals scored across the ninety minutes. Zambia had four shots on target in the first half and all four found the back of the net, which inevitably should raise question marks over the Tillies number one.

Mackenzie Arnold has been a star for the Tillies in the past few years,  but she struggled today, finding herself most involved when scooping the ball from the back of her own net. All the blame cannot be placed at Arnold’s door however, with Australia’s defence and midfield looking disjointed and uncommunicative with large swathes of space left between the two, in which Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundunanji were able to flourish in that frenetic first half. The Copper Queens’ defending was just as questionable- with a number of disappointing errors helping the Tillies plot a route back into the match.

Zambia’s NWSL stars mean business

You’d be forgiven for feeling underwhelmed by Zambia’s attack in the opening match against the USA given the pre-tournament hype. Yet just forty seconds would pass before Zambia would demonstrate their attacking talents, as Barbra Banda fired Zambia ahead with a contender for goal of the tournament just two games in. Kundunanji and Banda were a joy to watch, their almost telepathic link-up gave Australia all kinds of difficulties. Nine goals at the Olympic games for Barbra Banda makes her the most prolific African player ever at an Olympic games- Banda now has scored three hat-tricks in five Olympic matches.

So often in small teams with big stars but a lesser squad we see the pressure on those key players overwhelm them leading to nervy performances where the stars go missing; but for Banda and Kundunaji the opposite is true while both players deserved to be nowhere near the losing side tonight, never mind on it. The result means that Zambia have to beat Germany in their final group game while needing USA to defeat Australia and hoping that they can catch the Australians in goal difference. A daunting task to say the least, but something tells me that with their front line, Zambia aren’t done yet.

Top heavy Copper Queens

The stars of Zambian football -while plentiful found in attacking positions- are harder to find in defensive positions. The Zambian defence once again looked extremely open throughout, with few star performers showing themselves. Ngambo Musole in goal for the Copper Queens made a string of sloppy errors; Steph Catley’s free kick was directed straight at her yet she fumbled the ball into the back of her own net. Each of the back four made huge errors that could have and for some, did in fact lead to goals for the Tillies. 

Esther Muchinga’s clumsy defending gave Catley the chance to level the game from the penalty spot after trodding on the foot of Catley’s Arsenal and international team mate, Caitlin Foord. The Copper Queen’s poor defensive display was ultimately their downfall.

Gustavsson changes made the difference 

Australia went in 4-2 down at half time and had played incredibly poorly against Zambia. By minute fifty five, Australia were 5-2 down, and Tony Gustavsson looked to his bench for inspiration- and he found it. 

Australia looked energised with the introduction of Olympic qualifying top scorer Michelle Heyman, as a dynamic target player up front. Alongside her came the introduction of pacy winger Kaitlyn Thorpey, while Clare Wheeler’s addition at the base of midfield for attacking midfielder Van Egmond helped Australia gain control in the game. Heyman would score the winner with only minutes remaining and surely has earned a starting spot against the USA.

With Canada’s point deduction it is extremely likely that the two best third placed teams will be from group B and C as the likelihood is that Canada and New Zealand will finish on zero points. Victory for Australia puts them in a phenomenal position to at least finish in the top three and make the next round. Australia have only ever made the Quarter finals at an Olympics by finishing third in their group, and having safely navigated tonight, that now looks unlikely to change.