Matildas drawn with United States and Germany in 2024 Paris Olympics group stage
The Matildas’ hopes of winning a historic Olympic gold medal will face an early test after they were drawn alongside heavyweights United States and Germany in the group stage at the Paris Games.
The US has won Olympic gold four times since women’s football was first contested at the 1996 Atlanta Games and is fourth on the FIFA world rankings.
Germany, ranked fifth in the world, won the 2016 Olympic tournament in Rio.
Group B will also include either Zambia or Morocco, who are scheduled to play in a two-leg African play-off next month.
The Matildas achieved their best finish at an Olympics when they placed fourth in Tokyo three years ago.
They were fourth at last year’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, and are 12th on the FIFA rankings.
The Matildas play Germany in their opening match on July 26, while they will face the US in their final group clash on August 1 AEST.
Their three group matches will all be staged in Marseille.
Matildas vice-captain Emily van Egmond said Germany would have a “real point to prove” after it did not play in Tokyo.
“Given how hard it was for people to qualify within Europe, I’m expecting a pretty tough opponent in Germany,” she said.
“You look at the likes of Sweden and England who obviously missed out (on Olympics qualification) so that right there tells you it’s becoming increasingly more difficult.”
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said he was not expecting any easy matches at the Olympics.
“We knew no matter who we’re going to get that this is a tournament filled with quality teams,” he said.
“We can talk about three games yes, but at the end of the day we need to narrow it down to the opening game against Germany.”
World champion Spain was drawn alongside Japan, Brazil, and either Nigeria and South Africa in Group C.
Canada, who won gold in Tokyo, will face host nation France, Colombia and New Zealand in Group A.
The football tournament will begin two days before the Paris opening ceremony, with the women’s final concluding the Games on August 11 AEST.
The Olyroos are still a chance of qualifying for the men’s tournament in Paris.
The Matildas’ preparations for Paris will continue with a friendly against Mexico in San Antonio, Texas, next month.
They will also meet China in Adelaide and Sydney on May 31 and June 3 respectively.
The Matildas confirmed their Olympic berth with victory over Uzbekistan in a two-leg play-off last month.
