MX23RW : Friday, January 31 08:57:16| >> :600:13856379:13856379:

Preview: Olympic women's football – Japan vs. Canada

Preview: Olympic women's football – Japan vs. Canada
© PA Photos
Sports Mole previews the opening women's match in Group F between Japan and Canada.

The opening match in Group F pits many people's favourites for the competition - Japan - against a pacey Canada outfit in Cardiff.

Japan eliminated Germany at the quarter-final stage of the Women's World Cup last year, and therefore will enter the tournament full of confidence.

All 14 of Japan's squad from last year's final are part of their Olympic team, although they do enter the match with skipper and World Cup Golden Ball winner Homare Sawa a possible injury doubt.

Meanwhile, Canada finished last at the 2011 World Cup, but did look a much-improved outfit when they lost narrowly to the United States in June.

The Canadians' main threat comes in the shape of Christine Sinclair, who is many people's outside bet for the top scorer in the tournament.

Possible starting lineups:

Japan: Kaihori; Yukari, Iwashimizu, Sameshima, Kumagai; Homare, Miyama, Ando, Sakaguchi, Sawa; Ohno

Canada: McLeod; Moscato, Timko, Filigno, Zurrer; Wilkinson, Matheson, Chapman, Schmidt, Kyle; Sinclair

Sports Mole says: 3-0

ID:35918: cacheID:35918:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2076:
Written by
Matt Law

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!