Star striker Kyah Simon believes a first-ever Australian Olympic Games medal in football for either gender is now a realistic target after the Matildas completed a highly successful Asian qualifying tournament.
Australia held onto top spot after Emily Van Egmond equalised with five minutes remaining against China in Osaka on Wednesday.
The 1-1 draw ensured Australia completed the intense ten-day tournament undefeated with four wins from five matches, shoring up a ticket to Rio along with China.
With confidence at an all time high, the Matildas are now focussed on a podium finish in Rio.
“After the past ten days, we have a belief that we are genuine medal contenders,” said Simon.
“And we have further scope to grow and improve.
“We are definitely going there to compete for a medal, not to make up the numbers.” The Matildas best showing at an Olympic Games was to reach the last-eight at Athens 2004, while their male counterparts peaked with a fourth-placed finish at Barcelona in 1992.
Australia made it to the quarter-finals at last year’s World Cup in a spirited performance that captured widespread media attention.
But Simon, whose four goals saw her finish as the tournament’s top goalscorer, says the team have improved markedly in recent months.
“We have improved in leaps and bounds since the World Cup,” she said.
“A lot of that goes down to being on the same page defensively, and having an aggressive mindset in defence.
“We have a lot of quality attackers in our team, so when you have the defensive stuff worked out you are in good shape.
“We put a lot of focus on our physical condition ahead of the tournament, and that meant we could play at a high intensity throughout all five matches.
“We have shown that we can beat some of the best teams in the world, and it is just so exciting for the Olympics.” The Matildas received a message of support from Sydney 2000 gold medallist Cathy Freeman following booking passage to Rio on Monday.
Despite that inspiration, Australia were relatively flat against China but still found a way to earn a share of the spoils thanks to a trademark comeback.
“It was probably our worst performance of the tournament, so it was disappointing from that standpoint,” said Simon.
“But to cap it off by finishing top is a huge achievement and we are very proud of what we achieved.”
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