Rio 2016 Women’s Tournament Facts & Figures: Australia

Published on: 27 July 2016

Sao Paulo: A look at the key facts and figures surrounding Australia who begin their Olympics campaign on August 3 against Canada.

Road To Rio

Featuring three of the world’s top ten teams and five of the top 20, and with only two tickets to Rio available, the 2016 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament was predicted to be a tough competition, but Australia qualified with ease.

From the moment they dispatched host nation, 2011 FIFA World Cup winners and 2015 runners-up Japan, in the opening match, the Matildas looked Rio bound. Their emphatic 3-1 win in Osaka put the rest of the tournament on notice, but the wins kept coming.

With 9-0, 2-0 and 2-1 wins over Vietnam, Korea Republic and DPR Korea respectively; Australia’s performances were those of a squad rich in attacking equality and depth, with 17 goals shared amongst nine players in the five match, league-style tournament.

Qualification already secured, Australia were 1-0 down to China in the final match, before maintaining their unbeaten record thanks to a thunderous long-range strike from Emily van Egmond, one of the stars of Australia’s tournament.

The Matildas have never played an Olympic football tournament as an AFC nation, with their last appearance in the games coming in 2004, but they will arrive in Rio hoping to become the third AFC representative, after China and Japan, to claim a women’s Olympic medal.

Asia’s Olympics hopefuls announce Rio 2016 squads

Facts and Figures

Current head coach: Alen Stajcic

Previous appearances: 2 (2004, 2000)

Best finish: Quarter-finals (2004)

Matches played: 7

All-time record (W-D-L): 1 - 2 – 4

Goals scored: 5

Goals conceded: 10

Best result: 1-0 (v Greece in 2004)

This Time Around

Australia, taking part in the Olympics for the first time as a member of the AFC having represented the OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) at Athens 2004 and on home soil in Sydney four years earlier, have been drawn in Group E where they will face debutants Zimbabwe, Canada, and Germany, while China, silver medalists at the inaugural tournament in Atlanta in 1996, take on hosts Brazil, Sweden, and South Africa in Group F

August 3          15:00   Canada v Australia   (Sao Paulo)
August 3          18:00   Zimbabwe v Germany   (Sao Paulo)
August 6          15:00   Canada v Zimbabwe   (Sao Paulo)
August 6          18:00   Germany v Australia   (Sao Paulo)
August 9          16:00   Germany v Canada   (Brasilia)
August 9          16:00   Australia v Zimbabwe   (Salvador)

Source: the-afc.com

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