"Any team can beat any team" at Tokyo Olympics, says Australian football team coach

CANBERRA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The Matildas' head coach Tony Gustavsson said on Tuesday that the women's football tournament at the Tokyo Olympics would be very competitive and anything could happen once it enters into the knockout stage.

Gustavsson, who officially started his role as the head coach for Australian women's football team in January, told Xinhua at a virtual media conference that all three Asian teams including the host and China had good chances to progress from the group stage.

"This Olympics being a tournament with fewer teams than a World Cup, I think any team can beat any team," said Gustavsson, who worked as an assistant coach in two World Cup-winning tenures with the American women's national team in 2015 and 2019.

"I do think that there's gonna be a situation where it's gonna be very small margins who make it out of the group.

"I think all the Asian teams have a good chance to make it out of the group. And once they make it out of the group, like I said, it's going to be a very open race that makes it all the way," he added.

According to the governing body Football Australia, the Matildas officially arrived in Japan for a final training camp in Nara City on Sunday.

They will play against Japan on Wednesday in Kyoto, their final warm-up match before the Olympic competition begins.

"Because if we want to take the Matildas to the next level at the world stage, we need these tough games," said the head coach.

The Matildas, who qualified for Tokyo after securing a last-gasp 1-1 draw with China in Sydney and then winning a playoffs last year, are ranked ninth in the world and lead the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) teams in the rankings.

The 12 teams to compete in Olympics are placed into three groups, with the top two finishers in each group and the two best third-placed finishers moving into the knockout stage.

The Matildas plan to head to Tokyo on July 17 and start their campaign on July 21 against New Zealand before meeting world number five Sweden, and finishing the group stage against reigning world champions the United States.

China is in Group F with Brazil, the Netherlands and Zambia.