Australia’s manager, Tony Gustavsson, has resigned “by mutual agreement” following the women’s team’s early exit from the group stage in a disappointing Olympic football campaign.
The Matildas finished third in Group B after losses to the United States and Germany, with their only win being a dramatic 6-5 triumph over Zambia, who had led 5-2 in the second half.
This result was insufficient to advance Australia, as they ended with a worse goal difference compared to the third-place finishers in the other groups, Colombia and Brazil, who both moved on to the quarter-finals.
Gustavsson’s departure comes less than a year after he led Australia to their best-ever finish at a Women’s World Cup, where they ended up fourth in the 2023 tournament they co-hosted with New Zealand.
“It has been a great honour and privilege to have been able to be the head coach of the Matildas over the past four years,” Gustavsson said in a statement on Football Australia’s website.
“This journey with the team has had many incredible moments and memories that I will forever treasure.
“Thank you to the incredible players for letting me play a small part in their stories, my staff for being beside me every step of the way, Football Australia for backing our vision for this team, the Australian football family for embracing me and the Australian public for the tremendous support.
“Australian football will be forever in my heart, and I will be watching on and cheering on your success in the future.”
Australia suffered a 3-0 loss to Germany on July 25 and a 2-1 defeat to the United States on Wednesday, with both matches taking place in Marseille.
Football Australia announced that 50-year-old Tony Gustavsson would depart by mutual agreement, as his four-year contract had reached its conclusion.
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