The women footballers of Team GB will lock horns with a familiar foe in the home of Kashima Antlers on Friday morning.
It is not just that Australia’s rivalry with the old country is as strong in the Olympics, notably in rowing and swimming, as it is in cricket and rugby. It is also that most of the Matildas’ key threats are past or present team-mates.
Chelsea’s Sam Kerr, last season’s English league top scorer, tops Australia’s bill, but Caitin Foord and Steph Catley, of Arsenal, offer a threat down the left and Everton’s Hayley Raso is a danger down the right.
The supporters of Spurs, West Ham and Bristol City will see familiar faces as well, making this something of a reunion on Japan’s east coast.
Typhoon Nepartak mercifully gave the area a swerve, aside from some wind and rain which was a relief from the heat, but both sides will be aiming to blow away their opponents in this quarter-final with Sweden or Japan awaiting in the next round.
GB co-captain Kim Little suggested, however, the game could start cautiously.
“We’re very aware of the strengths they have and the threats they pose. We need to be completely aware of that,” said the Scot.
But the Arsenal midfielder added: “We’re pleased with how it’s gone so far, but there’s so much more to come from us. We’ve a lot in the tank which is a good position to be in. We feel confident. I’m in a good place.”
Winning the first two group matches enabled Hege Riise to rest and rotate players ahead of the third which, she said, was very beneficial in such an intensive tournament.
With Team GB playing 4-3-3, and Australia 3-4-3, the game will be a tactical contest, but is also likely to be a physical one. If Riise’s team can match Australia in that, they have the flair players to win it.
With Fran Kirby still unlikely to be fit enough to start, that means the passing of Little and Caroline Weir, and the wing-play of Lauren Hemp – even if she’ll be up against Ellie Carpenter, Lucy Bronze’s replacement at Lyon.
How to watch Team GB vs Australia
- Round: Quarter-final
- Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium
- Date: 30 July
- Kick-off time: 10am
- TV/Live stream: Eurosport 2 / Eurosport Player / discovery+
Hemp did not feature in the squad against Canada. Team GB have psychologist Katie Green on board and are working hard on mental preparation.
“When it is your first tournament you use a lot of energy, not only on the field,” Riise noted. “That was the main purpose for us to take her totally off to relax. She will be important for us. Her quality is one-v-one, different to the others.”
The last British team of either gender to reach the semi-finals in Olympic football was the men in 1948.
Domestic football politics are a major reason, but this is also a very competitive tournament.
The tie of the round is a repeat of the 2019 World Cup final with winners USA pitted against European champions, the Netherlands, led by England’s next coach Sarina Wiegman, but Team GB hope to make headlines of their own.
More on the Olympics
- Meet every Team GB athlete heading to Tokyo 2020 and the big medal hopes
- ‘Putting on the GB vest, the hairs on my arm stand up’
- ‘I’m going to the Olympics as a reigning champion’ – Hinch revels in GB’s 2016 hockey glory
- How a recent Olympics rule change has allowed Team GB footballers to take the knee in Tokyo
- Hannah Mills’ quest for sailing gold and a planet free of plastic waste
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3xcY4If
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