Westfield Matildas learn opponents for Rio Games

The Westfield Matildas have been drawn in Group F for the Rio Games alongside Germany, Canada and Zimbabwe.

The Westfield Matildas have been grouped alongside Germany, Canada and Zimbabwe in their bid to win a medal at the Rio Games after the draw for the tournament was conducted at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night Australian time.

The Westfield Matildas, who will make their third appearance at the Games after competing in 2000 and 2004, will begin their Rio Games campaign against world number 10 ranked Canada on Wednesday 3 August in Sao Paulo as they attempt to claim Australia’s first ever football medal at the Games.

The 12 teams that qualified for the Rio Games were split into four pots for the draw with the Westfield Matildas placed in Pot 2 with France and Sweden, the allocation based on the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings (FIFA also has a general principle for the draw to undertake best endeavours to ensure no group has more than one team from the same confederation).

The top two teams from each group along with the two best third ranked teams will qualify for the quarter finals.

Westfield Matildas Head Coach Alen Stajcic, who attended the draw in Rio de Janeiro, says the team is ready to make its mark on the world stage.

“It’s an exciting draw playing Canada first up and then another top ten team in Germany before facing Zimbabwe,” said Stajcic.

“It’s a very exciting group and we know that if we play to our potential we can be competitive.”

“We have taken some significant steps forward in the past 12 months and we will head to Rio with a real belief that we can challenge for medals,” said Stajcic.

“The chance to compete at the Olympics only comes around every four years and we are determined to make the most of this opportunity. We have an extremely talented group and we showed in the qualifiers the type of football we can play so we are confident we can match it with anyone and we will give it our all when we get to Brazil.”

Rio Games Women’s Football Tournament – Westfield Matildas Match Schedule

Group Matches
Canada v Australia
Wednesday 3 August 2016
Corinthians Arena, Sao Paulo (Kick-Off 3pm local, 4am AEST Thursday 4 August)

Germany v Australia
Saturday 6 August 2016
Corinthians Arena, Sao Paulo (Kick-Off 6pm local, 7am AEST Sunday 7 August)

Australia v Zimbabwe
Tuesday 9 August 2016
Fonte Nova Arena, Salvador (Kick-Off 4pm local, 5am AEST Wednesday 10 August)

Quarter Finals  
Friday 12 August 2016  

Semi Finals
Tuesday 16 August 2016  

3rd/4th Place and Final  
Friday 19 August 2016 

For more information on the Rio Games Women’s Football Tournament visit www.fifa.com/womensolympic