China's "Steel Roses" handed tough group at Tokyo Olympics

ZURICH, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese women's football team have been drawn into a tough group with powerhouses Brazil and the Netherlands at this summer's Tokyo Olympic Games.

The draw for the Olympic football competition was held at the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland on Wednesday.

The 12 qualified women's teams were pitted into three groups, with hosts Japan leading Group E alongside Canada, Britain and Chile.

China's "Steel Roses", who edged South Korea in their final qualifier earlier this month, will face two-time Olympic finalists Brazil, the Netherlands and Zambia.

Although this is the first time that the Netherlands have qualified for the Olympics, its senior team has showed great progress in recent years, winning the European Championship in 2017 and reaching the 2019 World Cup final.

Group G features Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States.

The US women's team has won four golds and one silver at the Olympics, but was knocked out of the quarterfinals at the 2016 Rio Games by Sweden, who reached the final where they lost to Germany.

In the men's competition, Japan will host South Africa, Mexico and France in Group A. Defending champions Brazil lead Group D with 2016 runners-up Germany, Cote d'Ivoire and Saudi Arabia.

Group B features New Zealand, South Korea, Honduras and Romania, while Group C contains Egypt, Spain, Argentina and Australia.

The women's football tournament for Tokyo 2020 will kick off on July 21, with the final scheduled for August 6 at Tokyo's new Olympic Stadium.

The men's event will start on July 22 and the final will be staged in Yokohama on August 7.