A promising path to their first Olympic medal has opened up for the Matildas as two of their toughest rivals fell short of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Both England and Sweden– two of the biggest powerhouses in women’s football– have missed out on playing in the Olympics, which take place over July and August of next year.
Given these two teams beat the Matildas at the FIFA World Cup, Australian fans have been celebrating that, if the Matildas are able to qualify for the Olympics, their biggest rivals’ absence could mean a better chance at medaling.
The Matildas are currently on track to qualify for the Olympics after three comfortable wins over Iran, Chinese Tapei and the Philippines. While the Tillies did lose two friendlies to Canada in the past week, their path to the 12-team competition at the Paris Olympics will be secured if they beat Uzbekistan in a two-legged playoff in February.
This week, England lost to Scotland 6-0 on Wednesday (AEDT), kicking them out of the running for the Olympics. And for the first time since women’s football was introduced, Sweden missed out on qualifying for the Olympics after a 1-0 loss to Switzerland.
Germany and the Netherlands have both booked spots at Europe’s Women’s Nations League finals to fight for spots at this year’s Olympics against France and the world champions, Spain.
The semi-finals will take place in February and the two finalists head to the Paris competition. If France wins, the team taking third place will also progress since France is guaranteed a place as hosts of the Olympics.
While fans will have to wait with bated breath to see how things turn out, an Olympic medal for the Matildas would only exacerbate the mass hype for women’s sport that their FIFA World Cup performance generated in Australia and around the world.
For the first time in history, women’s sports is forecast to exceed US$1.28 billion in global revenues next year, according to financial analysts at Deloitte. And this year, the Australian National Dictionary Centre based at the Australian National University (ANU) declared the word “Matilda” as Word of the Year.