The U.S. women's national team would be foolish to dismiss the Matildas after a 7-0 friendly loss to the Newcastle Jets U-15 side.
The first problem Australia’s national women’s soccer team encountered in a practice match against a team of teenaged boys Wednesday was this: the inability to field the full women’s national team.
The second problem the team nicknamed the “Matildas” encountered in that practice match was this: treating it like a practice match.
Then they got thrashed, 7-0, and it became a story. And that is the biggest problem of all.
The Matildas often practice against high school-aged boys because they cannot find enough high-quality female competition to sharpen them for international competition.