The Matildas will face the USA and Germany in pool games in Paris

The Matildas have avoided a group of death at the Olympics but will still face some mighty outfits in their quest for gold.

Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson says the fact strong teams like England are missing the Olympics shows how tough the competition in Paris will be after drawing top-five ranked teams the USA and Germany in their pool.

Gustavsson said having a clearer picture of his team’s opponents would also help him with the hard task of selecting his 18-player squad.

The Matildas have avoided the reigning Olympic champions and World Cup winners but will face a USA outfit looking for redemption in their quest to claim their first Games medal in Paris.

Gustvasson’s outfit was drawn in Pool B with the USA and powerhouse Germany and a yet-to-be-confirmed African qualifier, either Zambia or Morocco, to be determined next month.

Avoiding Spain, last year’s World Cup winners, and Tokyo gold medallists Canada, as well as host nation France, is a win for the Matildas.

But the path to a medal is still not easy and Gustavsson said the full details for the campaign could now be put in to place.

“We knew no matter who we’re gonna get that that this is a tournament field of quality teams. And one thing that says how quality team is actually joining this tournament is the ones that are not in it,” Gustavsson said.

“Now we know, we know what we’re facing it’s all about preparing for all those three games, three very different team tactically, physically. physically, and experience-wise as well.

“And we already know how many days we have and what kind of games we have, but now it’s also about sending the scouts out there, getting the data analysts to get all the data for us and also start looking at, okay, if implement our playing style onto each of these three opponents. what would those look like and start preparing as coaches as well.”

🚨 CONFIRMED 🚨

We've been drawn in Group B for #Paris2024!#Matildas#TilitsDone#AllezAUSpic.twitter.com/GBv3AROest

— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) March 20, 2024

The Matildas lost 4-3 loss to USA at the Tokyo Olympics and both the Americans and Germany are ranked considerably higher than Australia at fourth and fifth respectively, with Australia ranked 12th.

But both teams failed to go as far as the Matildas at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Germany didn’t progress past the group stage and the USA won just a single game in their group stage matches.

The Matildas finished fourth in Tokyo and will look to avenge that heartbreak without injured superstar skipper Sam Kerr, and Gustavsson said narrowing fown the final squad would be “tough”.

“It’s always tough with selection as a head coach, especially when you work with players for such a long time. And you know that there’s more players that actually qualify for selection that I can select,” he said.

“But in terms of oppositions, we’re going to base the selection more of who we are and what tools we need, more so than the opposition.

“We’re not going to get caught in just what fits into a Germany or a US or one of those African teams. This is about us when we select.”

The Australia men’s team, the Olyroos, won’t know if they qualify until the AFC U-23 tournament in April.

The women’s Olympics football competition kicks off in Paris on July 25, with the gold medal match to be played on August 10 at Parc des Princes.

OLYMPIC FOOTBALL POOLS

GROUP A: France, Colombia, Canada, New Zealand

GROUP B: USA, CAF 2, Germany, Australia

GROUP C: Spain, Japan, CAF 1, Brazil

SCHEDULE

July 25: Germany v Aus (Marseille)

July 28: Aus v CAF 2 (Nice)

July 31: Aus v USA (Marseille)

Originally published as The Matildas will face the USA and Germany in pool games in Paris