SUMMARY
- Australia women's soccer team faced a 7-0 defeat against the Newcastle Jets U-15 team before the 2016 Olympics
- How did they fare in the Olympics?
Men and women have met each other in a soccer match several times. However, the ones that are highlighted the most are the ones that have lopsided scores. Women’s soccer is still growing. They have faced several setbacks throughout history.
One of those highlighted matches is the thrashing defeat of the Australian women’s national soccer team, aka Matildas. They were thrashed 7-0 by the Under-15 boys of Newcastle Jets in a practice match before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. For many, there is still a question mark around the match. Let’s find out what happened in reality.
Did the Australian Women’s National Soccer team lose to 15-year-old boys?
In May 2016, the Matildas took to the soccer field to face the U-15 side of Newcastle Jets. The Jets are an A-League-based soccer club. Why did the Matildas have to take such a step? Well, it is said that at the time there was not enough competition for the Australian women’s team within their gender. They had to step up against the male soccer teams.
However, in a massive setback before the Olympics in 2016, the Matildas did taste a 7-0 defeat to the Newcastle Jets’ Under-15 side.
At the time, the Australian team was ranked fifth in the FIFA rankings. They did not qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Olympics in London. The last time the Matildas played in the Olympics was in 2004 in Greece. They lost in the quarter-finals in 2004. After a hiatus of over a decade, the Matildas were preparing for a blast in Rio but their hopes were dried down due to a horrendous defeat.
The Matildas suffered a huge setback as it was said that they were humbled by a bunch of school kids. It should be noted that the Australian team took it as a friendly and rotated their squad. However, they did show intent by starting with their AFC player of the year, Katrina Gorry.
The Australian Women’s National Team regularly plays against teenagers
As the Matildas began their preparation for the Rio Olympics, they met the unusual circumstance of not having competition within their nation. They usually prepare by playing friendlies against the youth teams of A-League clubs.
Reports suggest they faced a 2-2 draw against another youth team a few days before the humbling against the Newcastle Jets. Moreover, there was also a rumor that they faced another hurdle against the youth team of Sydney FC. However, there was no corroboration of that story.
How did the world react to the Matildas’ humbling?
Gary Van Egmond, the Matildas’ assistant coach and the academy director of the Newcastle Jets, claimed he did not expect such a result. In an interview, according to the Huffington Post Australia, he said, “To be honest, we didn’t expect that. But the Jets boys were very good. All credit to them. They moved the ball around very well and were excellent on the night. “
Furthermore, he added, “I think there were a couple of contributing factors to the loss. At this stage in their preparation, obviously, the Matildas are not in a position to play regular games, so I’d suggest all and sundry were a little bit rusty. We could have had an easier game, but we definitely want to keep testing the girls. The Matildas will be the sole football representative for Australia at the Olympics.”
Yea, that’ll be it-
“Australia’s national women’s soccer team have suffered a devastating defeat in the lead up to the Rio Olympics- going down 7-0 to the Newcastle Jets under-15 boys side.”
“World Cup-winning US Women’s team suffer shock 5-2 defeat to FC Dallas U-15 boys side”
— Tonypandy Gr.School (@TonyPandy51) July 22, 2022
Alen Stajcic, the Australian team’s head coach, was bemused by the score line. In a post-match interview, he said, “In all these experiences, you get to learn about the team, and you get to learn about things that you can work on and improve, and that was certainly the case last night.”
Australian soccer fans did not welcome the result well. Although this shows great potential in the men’s youth team, it completely denounced the female team. The fans reacted extremely negatively on social media, elucidating 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?
After a lot was spoken about the Matildas and their defeat against teenagers, the women did not crack under pressure. They were touted against Germany, Canada, and Zimbabwe in the group stage. In their first match, they faced a 2-0 defeat against Canada. In a match where they could not afford a defeat, they drew 2-2 against Germany. Future star Sam Kerr was on the scoreline that day.
Further, their match against Zimbabwe asked them to win by a massive margin. The Matildas did just that as they won 6-1 against Zimbabwe.
Australia qualified as the best third-placed team in the group stages. In the knockout stages, Australia faced the dangerous Brazil side. After playing out a 0-0 draw, Australia and Brazil went to penalties. Brazil, the home team, won the match 7-6 on penalties.
In an extraordinary turn of events, Germany, who drew against Australia, won the whole tournament. Germany brought home gold in 2016 after defeating Sweden in the final.
What stops women’s soccer from being as popular as men’s soccer?
As we all know, worldwide, men’s soccer is much more famous than women’s soccer. Overall, as we know, the FIFA Men’s World Cup has the highest viewership. Soccer is also the most popular sport in the world as it is watched by billions of people. However, why does women’s soccer not get the same respect and reach?
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Sumber: Kuwait Times pic.twitter.com/Os5BtpAeKi
— khairulamirin khabir (@alfaqir_khair) December 23, 2022
It is believed that women’s soccer is still at a nascent stage. Men’s soccer, historically, has never faced the resistance that women’s soccer has faced. Not many countries around the world supported women’s soccer till recent times. Although in 2024, 211 men’s and women’s soccer teams are 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 federations but do not have an official women’s soccer team.
How do the numbers make a difference?
Moreover, the numbers are also skewed. The availability and opportunities for women’s soccer have always been less compared to those for men. Taking into account the latest numbers from the latest World Cups – The 2022 Men’s World Cup winner Argentina earned $42 million as the winner. The total prize pool included $440 million.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup’s total prize pool was 1/4th of the men’s. However, the $110 million prize pool was $80 million more than the previous edition.
The pay for each player is an issue. As we all know, there have been numerous rumors about equal pay for men and women in sports. However, this still seems far away from happening. There is a massive pay gap between the highest-paid MLS player and the highest-paid NWSL player. In 2024, Lionel Messi, for Inter Miami, earns over $1 million in a week and the highest-paid NWSL payer Maria Sanchez will earn around $1.5 million in three years.
What also creates a major difference in the sport for both genders is history. When taking into account their participation in the Olympics, the men’s soccer event was included in the Olympics in 1900, meanwhile, women’s soccer was included in the Olympics in 1996.