Almost 400 days after securing qualification and with no games under their belt, the Matildas reunited and began to prepare for Tokyo. Four tough tests against European opposition yielded three defeats and a scoreless draw against Sweden. But now with over five weeks together thanks to the June friendlies and the transition camp in Sweden, the Matildas are ready and raring to go.
As Asian neighbours, Japan and Australia play each other regularly with the Matildas last recording a 2-0 win in their last encounter at the Tournament of Nations in 2018.
The squad
Since the IOC and FIFA decision to expand the 18-player squad to 22, making all alternates fully fledged members of the team, Tony Gustavsson has more players to choose from ahead of this game.
How to watch Australia v Japan
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How to watch Matildas v Japan
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The Matildas have officially arrived in Japan for their pre-games training camp in Nara, with Elise Kellond-Knight speaking to media ahead of their final tune-up. The process was actually quite smooth and everyone s looking pretty fresh today, Kellond-Knight said of the Matildas transition from Sweden to Japan. Japan s similar to Australia in terms of humidity, so for us, this feels like home.
The Westfield Matildas arrived in Nara City for a final training camp. The last time the team were in Nara was ahead of their qualification for Rio.
Met with a warm reception, the change of location from Sweden to Japan, marks the team s last steps ahead of their opening Group G match.