Matildas relieved as Olympic qualifiers moved from coronavirus city

Lydia Williams has spoken of the team’s relief at the switching of the Matildas’ Olympic qualifiers away from Wuhan.

Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams: ‘It’s good to see that we’re not going to Wuhan.’ Picture: Getty Images

Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams has spoken of the team’s relief at the switching of their Olympic qualifiers away from the Chinese city at the centre of a global health alert.

The Australian team will now play games against Chinese Taipei, Thailand and China in the city of Nanjing the week after next, after the Asian Football Confederation moved the qualifying tournament away from Wuhan. A mystery virus originating in Wuhan has now killed 17 people and infected nearly 600.

“We didn’t know how serious it was until Wednesday, then obviously the World Health Organisation was saying it’s a national emergency,” Williams said. “It’s good we’re not going to Wuhan.”

The Australian credited the Matildas staff for not alarming the team as the crisis unfolded. “We were kept in the dark, I think for a good reason, our federation, while FIFA and the AFC were all in discussions about our Plan B,” Williams said.

“But our staff really did a top job of communicating and making sure that, until they had something concrete, they weren’t going to comment on it.”

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The Matildas open their campaign against Chinese Taipei on February 3, followed by Thailand three days later and China on February 9.

Meanwhile, the Olyroos’ 2-0 loss late on Wednesday night to South Korea in the AFC U-23 Championship semi-final in Bangkok has provided the team with “great learning curve”, said coach Graham Arnold whose team can still earn a place at the Tokyo Olympics if they beat Uzbekistan in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH/AAP