The Olyroos will end a 13-year exile from the Olympic Games when they represent Australia at the delayed Tokyo Games in July.
After narrowly qualifying for the event, coach Graham Arnold has repeatedly backed his side to walk away from Tokyo with the nation's first ever medal in football.
Australia must first overcome a tricky group stage however where they face two football giants and another that could boast a Liverpool superstar.
Sporting News wraps up all you need to know about the Olyroos and their quest for a medal in Tokyo...
Olyroos group matches details and broadcast schedule
Date | Time (AEST) | Match | Stadium | Broadcast |
---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday July 22 | 8.30pm | Australia vs Argentina | Sapporo Dome | Channel Seven |
Sunday July 25 | 8.30pm | Australia vs Spain | Sapporo Dome | Channel Seven |
Wednesday July 28 | 9.00pm | Australia vs Egypt | Miyagi Stadium | Channel Seven |
Olyroos Group C standings
Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Egypt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Spain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The winner of Group C will play the runner-up of Group D, while the runner-up of Group C will face the winner of Group D.
Group D consists of Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia.
How to watch Olyroos games in Australia
The Seven Network has exclusive rights to broadcast every event of the Tokyo Olympics in Australia.
Events, including the Olyroos games, will be shown on television across their three respective channels: 7, 7TWO, and 7mate.
They will also be live streaming their televised events via 7+ which will have a dedicated Olympics channel that can be accessed online or via the app.
Prior to the Games, the Olyroos friendlies in June can be streamed via the Socceroos website and the My Football YouTube channel.
Latest Olyroos Results
Date | Match | Scorers |
---|---|---|
13 Jun 2021 | Olyroos 2-3 Mexico | Arzani (31', 50') |
9 Jun 2021 | Olyroos 0-1 Romania | |
2 Jun 2021 | Olyroos 1-2 Republic of Ireland | Najjarine (72') |
17 Nov 2020 | Macarthur FC 1-2 Olyroos | Metcalfe (78'), Najjarine (79') |
12 Nov 2020 | Sydney FC 3-0 Olyroos | |
25 Jan 2020 | Olyroos 1-0 Uzbekistan | D'Agostino (47') |
22 Jan 2020 | Olyroos 0-2 South Korea |
How did the Olyroos seal their spot at Tokyo?
Australia qualified for the Games after beating Uzbekistan 1-0 in a third-place playoff at the AFC U-23 Championship in early 2020.
The Olyroos topped their group at the tournament and beat Syria in the quarter-finals before losing 2-0 against South Korea in the semi-finals.
That result left them needing to beat Uzbekistan to seal their spot at Tokyo and they did that in dramatic fashion with Nicholas D'Agostino scoring a superb winner in the 47th minute.
The Olyroos' record at the Olympic Games
Australia have qualified for the Olympic Games five times with their last appearance coming in 2008.
The green and gold's first outing came in 1992 when they achieved their best result and finished fourth after losing 1-0 against Ghana in a third-place playoff.
In the next two Games, Australia failed to escape their groups and won just one of their six matches.
In 2004, the Olyroos scraped through to the quarter-finals but lost 1-0 against a spirited Iraq side. Four years later, they scored just one goal across three matches and failed to qualify for the knockout stages.
Olyroos teams news and latest squad
Ahead of four friendlies to be played in June, Arnold has named an experimental squad designed to give fringe players a chance to impress with Gary van Egmond leading them in the absence of Arnold, who is busy with the Socceroos.
The final squad for the Games is expected to be named in late June with the team to assemble in Tokyo a few days later.
Find the latest squad below...
Name | Team | Name | Team |
---|---|---|---|
Panos Armenakas | SV Zulte Waregem, Belgium | Nicholas Pennington | Olbia Calcio 1905, Italy |
Daniel Arzani | AGF, Denmark | Kristian Popovic | NK Rudes, Croatia |
Jacob Chapman | Huddersfield Town, England | Luka Prso | Newcastle Jets, Australia |
Gabriel Cleur | Virtus Entella, Italy | Jay Rich-Baghuelou | Crystal Palace, England |
Nicholas D'Agostino | Perth Glory, Australia | Dylan Ryan | Melbourne Victory, Australia |
Marlee Francois | Bristol City, England | Ryan Teague | FC Famalicao, Portugal |
Tyrese Francois | Fulham, England | Marc Tokich | Mjallby AIF, Sweden |
Doni Grdic | HNK Sibenik, Croatia | Caleb Watts | Southampton, England |
Jordan Holmes | Ebbsfleet United, England | Murray Miller | Rangers, Scotland |
John Iredale | SC Paderborn, Germany | Ramy Najjarine | Newcastle Jets, Australia |
Anthony Kalik | HNK Gorica, Croatia | Connor O'Toole | Newcastle Jets, Australia |
Ashley Maynard-Brewer | Charlton Athletic, England | Con Ouzoundis | Everton, England |