Ultimate Guide: Australia v Japan

Australia and Japan will play a friendly to complete their respective preparations for the Olympics. 

Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming game.

Background

After the pandemic pushed the Games back by a year, the tournament is now only a week away. Japan qualified for the tournament as the host nation while Australia made it through after defeating Vietnam 7-1 on aggregate in the final stages of Asian qualifying. 

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Almost 400 days after securing qualification and with no games under their belt, the Matildas reunited and began to prepare for Tokyo. Four tough tests against European opposition yielded three defeats and a scoreless draw against Sweden. But now with over five weeks together thanks to the June friendlies and the transition camp in Sweden, the Matildas are ready and raring to go. 

Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley with their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qantas boarding passes


As Asian neighbours, Japan and Australia play each other regularly with the Matildas last recording a 2-0 win in their last encounter at the Tournament of Nations in 2018. 

The squad 

Since the IOC and FIFA decision to expand the 18-player squad to 22, making all alternates fully fledged members of the team, Tony Gustavsson has more players to choose from ahead of this game. 

The likes of Kyra Cooney-Cross, Teagan Micah, and Courtney Nevin will look to build on their recent debuts. Emily van Egmond and Hayley Raso hit milestones in June - 100 and 50 caps respectively - and provide experience in attack and the midfield. 

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Across the backline players like Clare Polkinghorne boast over 100 Matildas appearances, while goalkeeper Lydia Williams is currently the longest serving national team player having spent almost 16 years in the team. 

Where to watch 

The game will be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook. 

The opponent 

Host nation Japan is Australia's final opponent before the Olympics begin. Nadeshiko and the Matildas have locked horns 28 times since 1984 with Australia winning eight of their games. Japan has been victorious on 11 occasions with the teams sharing the spoils nine times. 

Hayley Raso, Kyah Simon and Caitlin Foord with their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qantas boarding passes


Japan has recorded four victories so far in 2021: back to back 7-0 triumphs against Paraguay, Panama were followed by an 8-0 win over Ukraine and a 5-1 victory over Mexico. 

Asako Takakura's young side will have plenty of expectations placed on it as the host nation. 

Match Details  

Japan v Australia
Date: Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Time: 8.20pm AEST / 7.20pm JST
Venue: Sanga Stadium, Kyoto