The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Women’s Football completion kicked off in the early hours of the morning here in the states. All 12 nations played their first of three group stages today. There were some blowouts and some close competitions in the Olympic Women’s Football Matchday 1.
Olympic Women’s Football matchday 1.
The first matchday of Tokyo 2020 saw six matches kick off the action of what looks to be an amazing tournament. Group E showed close matches, Group F had blowouts, and Group G had one big surprise. Here’s a look at all of the action in the Tokyo 2020’s Women’s Football matchday 1.
Group E
Group E has Canada, Chile, Great Britain, and Japan fighting to make it to the quarterfinals. This can be seen as the “group of death” in this tournament. On the first matchday, Great Britain was the only nation to get a win. Japan and Canada fought to a draw, while Chile lost. Here’s how it all went down!
Great Britain beat Chile 2-0
Great Britain and Chile kicked things off for Group E. From early on in the match it was clear that Great Britain was the better side, and if they could feed the ball to striker Ellen White then goals would come. That was England’s game plan; Chile’s was to sit deep and hope Great Britain overextended so they could hit on the counterattack.
Unfortunately for Chile, Great Britain’s game plan worked to perfection. White scored inside the first 20 minutes for GB, and Chile did little to get their way back into things. The Chilean’s held on for a while being just one down, but it was not for the entire match. White fired home a second goal in the 72nd minute ensuring that Great Britain would take all three points from their first match at Tokyo 2020.
Japan fight for a draw vs Canada
Canada and Japan are two of the most talented nations in the world. When the two were drawn together in Group E, there was anticipation for their matchup. It came as the first group stage game and showed why the two are rated so highly. Canada got on the front foot early thanks to a Christine Sinclair goal in the 6th minute. The majority of the match was then Japan trying to get back into the game.
Japan is always a calculated team that CBA punishes their opposition when they make mistakes. Canada we’re not opening itself up as Japan wanted. It took some major prodding, but the Japanese side was eventually able to find their goal. It came late on in the 87th minute, but it was just enough to ensure that both nations would split points on the first matchday.
Standings
Group F
Group F has two giants in the women’s game, one fading nation, and one hoping to make its mark on the world’s stage. Brazil and Netherlands both had blowout wins in matchday one over China and Zambia. Here’s a look at those blowout results.
Brazil blanks China 5-0
Brazil is a true giant in International football. In this tournament they wanted to show that their team should be up there with those like the Netherlands and the USA. They opened their groupstage play against a Chineese side that is good, but has fallen from being one of the top sides in the world. It was was clear from the jump that Brazil was going to dominate this match, and the scoresheet reflected that.
China conceded early, as Brazilian legend Marta scored in the 9th minute. Brazil added a second goal after just 22 minutes. China was able to hold off Brazil for the remainder of the first half, but they neve looked like scoring. In the second half this was also true. As the match moved to the later stages, China’s players tired and Brazil found three more goals. China will need to find a better foothold as the matches role on, while Brazil looks to be on their way to the knockout rounds after this preformance.
Netherlands score 10 against Zambia
Zambia is the lone country from Africa that made it to Tokyo 2020. They’re the underdogs in Group F, and in their first match they had to go up against 2019 World Cup finalists the Netherlands. In another major tournament, the Netherlands wanted to show the world why they should still be seen as one of, if not the best team from Europe. They did just that in this match.
The Netherlands scored 10 goals in this match. Six of them were scored in the first half and four in the second half. This Dutch side showed their quality from minute one. They came out and dominated the match. Zambia did score an impressive three goals against this great Netherlands side, which can be some consolation as they try to regroup from the loss. The Netherlands look to expand on this huge win as they move on.
Standings
Group G
Group G is the group where the World Champions USWNT play in this tournament, they took on the team that they got knocked out by in the last Olympics Sweden. The result of that match ended a 44-game win streak for the USA. Australia and New Zealand are the two other nations in the group and they renewed their rivalry in matchday one of play. Let’s look back at these results from Group G.
Sweden Stun USA, end 44 game win streak
Sweden knocked the USA out of the 2016 Olympic tournament in the quarterfinal round. In Tokyo 2020, they meet in the first match of Group G play. The result was one that shocked many. The USWNT was on an unbeaten streak of 44 games. This time around, Sweden looked to be the only team that showed up. The USA were disjointed from the jump and couldn’t get anything together. Sweden took advantage exploiting the spaces USA left for them.
In the 25th minute Sweden scored the opener. The USA held off Sweden for the rest of the half, but never really looked threatening. In the second half the USA almost equalized, but a shot hit the post, and Sweden were off the other way, and soon after scored their second goal. After that goal went in the US were totally done in, but unfortunately would once a thrid as well. This was a bad loss for the USA who will now be behind the eight ball moving forward, while Sweden are in a great spot to win Group G now.
Australia best rivals New Zealand 2-1.
Australia and New Zelanad are rivals in everything. They get to renew their rivalry in Group G play at these Olympic games. Australia are statistically the better side, but New Zealand don’t back down from a fight with their neighboring nation. This match was an indication of all of that. Australia started very strong, but New Zealand kept them at bay.
That is, until the 20th minute. Australia found their opening goal then. It was followed soon after by a second goal from their star player Samantha Kerr. Austraila took a 2-0 lead into halftime. As the second half kicked off New Zeland tried to get back into the match, but was not able to get any good attacking sequences. They eventually found one goal in the 90th minute. It was too late to find a second, but they may have some momentum carrying them forward for their other matches. Australia is also in a great spot having taken three points from their rivals!
Standings
Matchday two is on Saturday morning!
The first matchday has granted some clarity while creating headaches for others. As we head to the second matchday, we near the part where some nations get knocked out, some stay alive, and some qualify for the quarterfinals. Here’s a look at the upcoming matches on matchday two.
Matchday 2: July 24
- Chile v Canada | @ 3:30 am EST
- China v Zambia | @ 4:00 am EST
- Sweden v Australia | @ 4:30 am EST
- Japan v Great Britain | @ 6:30 am EST
- Netherlands v Brazil | @ 7:00 am EST
- New Zealand v USWNT | @ 7:30 am EST
We at Philly Sports Network will keep an eye on all the action and will be here to recap it all once it’s happened! These games will be a blast, so be sure to catch some of them with your morning coffee on Saturday, or wait until the replays are shown later in the day or the following days.
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Mandatory Credit: Tokyo 2020 via Twitter
