The Matildas face tough opposition in Toyko. Some of the threats will be familiar to the players, but that will not make them any easier to handle.
Kick360 takes a look at some of the biggest individual threats Australia will face in the group stage.
New Zealand: Paige Satchell
The Football Ferns have not played as a team in over a year but they have players who can trouble Australia.
In midfield, they have Olivia Chance. The Brisbane Roar and former Everton player is industrious and capable of the spectacular. She will be accompanied by Annalie Longo of Melbourne Victory, but the tidy midfielder is not the main danger to The Matildas.
Canberra United’s Paige Satchell is fast. She is aggressive, direct, and electrifying in full flight.
If Australia has had an obvious achilles heel against underdogs it had been defending against pace. The defensive setup against Sweden showed that the Gustavsson era Matildas are able to defend deep and against top-quality opposition but if Satchell catches them on the counter-attack it would spell trouble.
In the 2019 World Cup Khadija Shaw of Jamaica caused problems with her direct running and speed while in the 2018 Asian Cup, Thailand troubled the Aussies with quick tenacious forwards.
Satchell might not be prolific on paper but once goal side she will be hard to stop. She can play off either flank or through the middle and is simply frightening with the ball at her feet.
She played a major part in Canberra’s run to the W-League semi-final, combining her obvious athleticism with an end product.
Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni knows Australian football. As the man who coached The Matildas to Asian Cup glory in 2010, he played a major part in establishing the current Golden Generation.
In the unlikely event that he wants to do Australia one more favour he could start Satchell on the bench and keep her there.
Sweden: Sofia Jakobsson
Australia impressed against Sweden in the last friendly. After leaking goals in the previous three games, they solidified themselves defensively against a superior-ranked opponent.
However, Sweden did not start one of their most damaging players and did not bring her on until late in the game.
Bayern Munich’s Sofia Jakobsson is terrifying in full flight. A goalscoring winger who does not ignore her defensive duties when needed. Jakobsson is tall, fast, and a good finisher. If Australia plays with three at the back again that could leave space outside for the former Real Madrid star.
In any case, the presence of the dangerous attacker could curtail the attacking instincts of Carpenter or Catley at fullback. If Gustavsson can formulate a plan to stop his countrywoman it will go a long way to helping Australia get a result.
Jakobsson brings unpredictability to a Swedish attack that at times looked out of ideas against The Matildas. She does not need much of an opening to score and loves to cut onto her right foot to shoot.
She is an incredible player near the peak of her abilities and at the 2019 World Cup won Player Of The Match honors against Germany and England.
Her equalizer against England was typical of the threat she poses, receiving the ball on the left she surged into the penalty area, the angles looked covered but with only the slightest space, and still running she struck the ball into the net at the far post.
Jakobsson did not have the chance to show what she could do against Australia in June, if they give her even half a chance in July they will be made to pay.
Jakobbson’s goal against England
USA: Samantha Mewis
The U.S.A is the most successful and feared team to feature at the Olympics. However, in recent history, Australia has matched up reasonably well against them.
The Matildas last encounter with the Americans was a 5-3 loss but before that, a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 win were notable results against a team that usually sweeps aside all before them.
Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Tobin Heath are all stars but Australia should feel confident they have the personnel to keep them at bay. Samantha Mewis could be a different story.
The midfielder is in peak form following a season at Manchester City where she scored seven goals over 17 games but it is the way she plays that is most frightening.
She is an almost complete attacking player and capable of scoring any type of goal.
Mewis is predominantly a left-footer and has a highlight reel of long-range efforts from her preferred side but is dangerous off her right closer to goal.
She is unpredictable with the ball, she can carry it forward and play a final pass or launch a rocket on goal herself. Her technique makes her deadly in the six-yard box and her height makes her a threat from set-pieces.
Samantha Mewis is a delight to watch as a neutral. A spectacular football force that not many individual defenders have the attributes to match.
Australian fans will hope that Tony Gustavsson will have a plan to curb her influence. As a former assistant coach of the USWNT, he will have some inside knowledge of how she is utilized by the team.
However, knowing what somebody is going to do and stopping them from doing it are two very different things and on her day Samantha Mewis can do almost anything.
