the Dutch Lionesses meet two top countries at the Olympic Games

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 11:02 AM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 11:53

The the Dutch Lionesses will have to deal with China, Brazil and Zambia in the group stage of the Olympic Games, as the draw on Wednesday morning in Zurich, Switzerland, showed. It is the first time that the team of national coach Sarina Wiegman will participate in the Olympic football tournament, which starts on July 21 in Tokyo. The final will be completed on August 6.

The first game for the the Dutch Lionesses in group F is on July 21 against Zambia, while three days later, on July 24, the confrontation with the women’s team of Brazil is on the agenda. The group phase will close against China on July 27. A total of twelve countries participate in the Olympic Games, divided into three groups. The numbers one and two qualify for the quarter finals, together with the two best numbers three.

The the Dutch Lionesses, together with reigning world champions United States and host country Japan, were placed in Pot 1 prior to the draw and with the FIFA ranking as a guideline. Germany, the current number two in the world ranking, surprisingly failed to qualify for the final tournament. . Besides Tokyo, Sapporo, Miyagi, Kashima, Saitama and Yokohama are the other host cities for this summer.

Brazil took fourth place at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In the consolation final, they were almost five years ago no match for Canada. China won a silver medal in the football tournament in 1996. Zambia, number 104 in the current FIFA ranking, will make its debut at the Tokyo Olympics, just like the Netherlands. By the way, China was the first opponent of the the Dutch Lionesses at the 2015 World Cup in Canada. The meeting resulted in a 1-0 defeat at the time. Due to the corona crisis, the Olympic football tournament takes place a year later than planned.