Blooding new players while experimenting with new systems among the Matildas’ growing pains

“Cry in the beginning so you can smile at the end.”

They were the impassioned words of one of football’s greatest players, Marta, when her Brazil side were bundled out of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup by the host nation, France.

Staring down the barrel of the broadcast camera after that 2-1…