The Matildas have avoided world champions Spain but will nevertheless tread a difficult path to a first Olympic medal after being drawn with traditional powerhouses the USA and Germany in the group stage of this year’s women’s football tournament in France.
The USA, four-time winners and Fifa’s fourth-ranked side, and Germany, fifth in the latest world rankings, will pose significant obstacles as Tony Gustavsson’s side attempt to go one better than their effort in Tokyo, where they narrowly missed out on a medal.
The trio will be joined in Group B by either Zambia or Morocco, who meet in an African playoff over two legs early next month. Australia’s group games will all be played away from Paris in the south of France – the USA and Germany clashes will be hosted at Marseille’s Vélodrome with the other match to take place in Nice.
At a star-studded ceremony in Paris, hosts France were drawn with Colombia, reigning champions Canada and New Zealand in Group A, while world champions Spain, who will play at the Olympics for the first time, will meet Japan, Brazil and the first African qualified team – either Nigeria or South Africa – in Group C.
With seven of the top 10-ranked teams having secured places at the 2024 Games, the Matildas’ assignment was never going to be easy. There will be relief at having avoided World Cup winners Spain and hosts France, but in the USA and Germany they face two teams with rich pedigrees in Olympic football.
Of the seven gold medals won since the women’s football tournament was introduced in 1996, the USA have won four and Germany one. But both head to France desperate to rebound after disappointing World Cup performances – the Americans crashed out of last year’s tournament at the last-16 stage while Germany did not make it beyond the group stage.
They present familiar challenges to Australia; the Matildas have beaten the USA just once in the 33 times they have played – the most recent encounter coming at the Tokyo Games – while they have played Germany five times, including a draw at the Rio Games.
For Gustavsson, who won two World Cups as assistant coach of the USA before taking over as Matildas coach, the draw was as tough as it was exciting.
“We knew no matter who we were going to get that this is a field of quality teams,” said the Swede, who will be appearing at his fourth Olympics. “This is going to be a massive opportunity for women’s football.
“An opening game against Germany – one of the first teams I played [against] as a head coach for Matildas – the US again, who we played at the last Olympics, and then we saw what the African teams could do in the World Cup in 2023 … this is going to be a very, very exciting group.”
The Matildas are aiming to win their first Olympic medal, after their best finish to date – fourth place – at the 2020 Games in Tokyo three years ago. They missed out by the narrowest of margins in the bronze medal match, losing 4-3 to the USA in a classic encounter in Kashima.
Now ranked 12th in the world, the Matildas booked their place at the 2024 Games last month after a one-sided 13-0 final qualifying playoff victory over two legs against Uzbekistan and, after a groundbreaking run to the semi-finals at last year’s World Cup, they head to France heavily fancied to make their biggest impression yet on the tournament.
Matildas vice-captain Emily van Egmond said she was looking forward to the challenges presented by the USA and Germany.
“Obviously every group’s a tough group and no doubt the Olympics is an even more competitive tournament, but [we’re] just happy now to know our opponents so we can prepare the best way possible,” she said.
“They’re familiar opponents, the US in particular. They’re coming into a phase now with a new head coach [current Chelsea manager Emma Hayes], so it’ll be a new challenge for us. With Germany not to have been in Tokyo, they have a real point to prove. Given how hard it was to qualify within Europe, that just shows where women’s football is going.”
Next on the calendar for the Matildas is a friendly against Mexico in the US next month before their final two games on home soil against reigning Asian champions China in Adelaide and Sydney on 31 May and 3 June.
The women’s Olympic football tournament kicks off a day before the Games’ opening ceremony on 26 July. Games will be played in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Saint- Etienne, with the final to be hosted at the Parc des Princes on 10 August.
