The Matildas will commence their Paris 2024™ Olympic Games campaign in the early hours of the Australian morning when they take on world number 4, Germany, at the Stade de Marseille in Marseille.

Drawn in Group B, it will mark Australia’s fifth appearance in the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.

One of the powerhouses of world football, Germany, enter the tournament with confidence after defeating Austria 4-0 in UEFA Euro 2025, qualifying. DFB-Frauenteam also return to the Olympics after failing to qualify for the Tokyo 2020.

They will be looking to add to their significant Olympic pedigree having reached the podium on four separate occasions with a Gold (Rio 2016) and three Bronze medals (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008).

Australia enters the tournament with hopes of their own to build on the legacy established during last year’s electrifying run at the FIFA Women’s World Cup and an unforgettable Tokyo 2020 campaign that kickstarted it all.

Led by Tony Gustavsson for a second straight Olympics, the Matildas undertook their final preparations in Spain to acclimatise for the hot and dry conditions of Marseille.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing with a number of injury clouds for key players including captain Steph Catley, exciting forward Caitlin Foord, Teagan Micah and Tameka Yallop.

Positively for Matildas and Australian fans, the quartet and the rest of the 22-player squad were all on the park training in their Match Day -1 session at Stade Jean de Lattre de Tassigny.

Australia is a team that can play different styles of football, whether it is possession-based through their technically gifted midfield engine room or a counterattacking style that looks to release and utilise one of the fastest attacks in world football.

Looking across the park, the Matildas have several players that can impact a game whether it’s the forwards like Foord, Michelle Heyman, Cortnee Vine or Hayley Raso.  The midfielders of Katrina Gorry, Emily van Egmond, Kyra Cooney-Cross or Clare Wheeler or the hardened defensive unit of Catley, Alanna Kennedy, Ellie Carpenter, Clare Polkinghorne, Mackenzie Arnold, Teagan Micah and Clare Hunt.

At the other end of the pitch will be an equally talented opponent led by their captain Alex Popp. Popp is flanked by the sharpshooting Klara Bühl and Lea Schüller who possess pace, skill and movement.  Centrally Jule Brand, Sydney Lohmann and Sjoeke Nüsken could all play pivotal roles to dictate the momentum of the match as they battle it out against Gorry and co. Defensively Giulia Gwinn and Sarai Linder could pose a similar threat to Australia’s own full backs making for a fascinating battle out on the wings.

The last time these two sides met at the Olympics saw a pulsating 2-2 result at Rio 2016 with Foord and the currently injured Sam Kerr the goal scorers for Australia.

WHAT THEY SAID

Steph Catley: I think it’s a privilege [to be a part of the Olympics], regardless of if I’ve got the captain’s armband on or not. I’ve got so many wonderful leaders around me in the squad and that makes my job really, really easy. But it’s definitely a proud moment for me and something [wearing the armband] that I’m really looking forward to.

Mackenzie Arnold: Germany is going be a tough game, but I think in the World Cup as well, we just took it one game at a time and we didn’t want to get too far ahead past our first game. We know we’re in a tough group, but we have just got to get through Germany first.

Clare Hunt: We’ve spent almost four weeks [together], and I think in four weeks, you can cover a lot of bases. We’ve spent time on all three teams and prepared for all three teams. When you lead up to your first match within that final week, then you start to narrow in on that first match. We also know the strengths of Zambia and the strengths of the USA, and I think we can use aspects of the Germany game to prepare for both of those two as well. It will be a good step forward just to get on the pitch and get some minutes in and hopefully take away a winning start to the campaign.

Tony Gustavsson: I actually think when it comes to the Olympic spirit and this team being connected to that, you don’t need to remind them what they’re part of. They’re part of something so much bigger than just football and the Matildas. It’s representing the country and the Olympic spirit, and you can actually sense it.  Wearing the clothes for the Olympics and the talks amongst the group, you can sense that there’s something special.

HOW TO WATCH

Channel 9, 9Now and Stan Sport will be the home of the Paris 2024™ Olympic Games for fans in Australia, Channel 9’s main channel will be showing the opening game, and 9Now has 40 dedicated channels to watch the Olympics. Stan Sport offers every event ad-free, on-demand and in 4K.

Nine will broadcast the games through podcasts and radio channels, including Sydney’s 2GB, Melbourne’s 3AW, Brisbane’s 4BC and Perth’s 6PR. 

ABC Local Radio will broadcast the Olympics to listeners in Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart and Canberra, as well as across regional, rural, and remote regions of the country.

MATCH DETAILS

Germany v Australia
Date: Thursday 25 July 2024 (local) / Friday 26 July 2024 (AEST)
Kick-off: 7.00pm (local) / 3.00am AEST
Venue: Stade de Marseille, Marseille, France
Broadcast: Channel 9, 9Now & Stan Sport (Australia)