The 2024 Paris Olympics officially get underway this week and the women’s football tournament kicks off on Thursday, July 25.
Matchday one of the group stages will take place at stadiums across France with kick-off times staggered at 5pm and 9pm. Among the nations competing at this year’s tournament are Tokyo 2020 gold medalists Canada, four-time gold medalists USA and 2023 Women’s World Cup winners Spain.
The group stage will conclude on July 31, with the quarter-finals scheduled for August 3. The semi-finals will be on August 6, followed by the bronze medal match on August 9 and the gold medal match on August 10.
The opening round of matches includes some mouthwatering ties between huge nations, including Germany vs Australia, Spain vs Japan and France vs Colombia.
90min has taken a look at Thursday’s games and predicted who will come out on top…
Hosts France take on World Cup quarter-finalists Colombia at the Stade de Lyon on Thursday evening. Neither nation has ever medalled at an Olympic Games, but Herve Renard’s side will hope to make an impact on home soil.
Chelsea’s Mayra Ramirez and Real Madrid’s Linda Caicedo are in the Colombia squad, meaning they will be a tough opponent for whoever they face at this summer’s tournament.
Prediction: France 2-1 Colombia
Holders Canada take on New Zealand for their opening game, but a lot has changed since Tokyo 2020. At the World Cup last year, Canada failed to qualify from their group having won just one game.
New Zealand also failed to qualify from their group at the World Cup, despite being co-hosts of the tournament. This will, however, be a fifth successive Olympic Games for the Football Ferns.
Prediction: Canada 2-2 New Zealand
Another tough game to call given Australia’s recent success in the women’s game. The Matildas reached a World Cup semi-final only 12 months ago and have been in solid form, although they will be without star striker Sam Kerr.
Germany, on the other hand, had a disappointing World Cup last year after failing to qualify from their group, but they certainly made amends by reaching the latter stages of the inaugural women’s Nations League. Germany have won a gold medal on just one occasion at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Prediction: Germany 1-1 Australia
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at 90min EN…