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Australia and China PR have fought to a draw to end their Olympic qualifying campaign, slotting a goal each on their way to Rio qualification.
Australia took control of the early stages with a flurry of attacking opportunities through China’s depleted midfield, however, once the Chinese women settled in their formation they became near unstoppable as they drove through the hapless Matildas defence.
Ma Xiaoxu opened the scoring with a 16th minute header into the bottom right hand corner of the goal, cementing their dominance over the game early.
The remainder of the first half was a grind for both sides with multiple opportunities to add to the scoreboard went begging, frustrating both coaches in the process heading in to the sheds.
The fight continued after the break with some real end to end football disturbing the flow of both sides and it showed with sloppy turnovers and poor ball retention the order of the day.
Despite Australia’s best efforts, China continued to hold court over the match and threatened to double their lead on more than one occasion heading into the final ten minutes of the game.
Enter Emily Van Egmond. The Newcastle native slotted home an absolute stunner from outside the box with just seven minutes remaining to even the scores and give her side the point they needed to retain top spot.
Final Score:
Australia – 1
China PR – 1
Having both already qualified for the Olympics in Rio, the Matildas and China PR will face off for bragging rights and top seeding in the Asian conference tonight. Join The Roar from 9:35pm (AEDT) for all the goals and highlights coming out of Osaka.
Australia have gone four from four to sit two points clear of China PR in the standings, securing their first trip to the Olympics since Athens in 2004 with a 2-1 victory over Korea DPR on Monday.
The Matildas win over Korea DPR also secured China PR’s plain ticket to Rio after they took down Korea Republic by one goal, increasing their lead over third spot to an impassable five points with one game remaining.
The Matildas have slotted an incredible 16 goals from just four encounters during the final stages of qualifying. With key forwards Kyah Simon and Michelle Heyman potting seven of those goals between them, China PR are in for a defensive fight against Australia’s firing front line.
“Asia is the strongest confederation in women’s football and both ourselves and China head to Rio with strong medal chances,” said Australia coach Alen Stajcic.
“We’ve achieved our first goal of qualification, but that’s just the beginning; we’re viewing this match with China as the next step on our path to an Olympic gold medal.”
Australia have taken out two of the last three encounters between the two sides, although the last time they met was an international friendly in October of last year that ended in a tense one-all draw.
Prediction
Australia are in near unstoppable form but a Chinese team that has only conceded two goals all tournament will no doubt be the Matildas’ biggest challenge. With coach Stajcic continuing to experiment with his line up, it will be interesting to see how well the Matildas strong forward attack will fare against the Chinese.
Don’t expect to see any 5-3 blowouts in this contest and a draw could even be the most likely result to come out of the top of the table clash.
Australia – 1
China PR – 1
Can the Matildas maintain their unbeaten record and launch into the Olympics as medal favorites? Or will China take top spot out from under their feet with a big win? Find out tonight from 9:35pm (AEDT) on The Roar for all the action and big moments.
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