The countdown is on with Australia's first Olympic Men's Football Tournament since 2008 around the corner!
Graham Arnold has named his 18-man squad set for Tokyo 2020 as Australia eye their first footballing medal in history.
Here is everything you need to know about who and what is involved in the tournament.
Match Details
Argentina v Australia
Thursday, 22 July 2021
Venue: Sapporo Dome, Sapporo
Kick-off: 7.30pm local, 8.30pm AEST
Australia v Spain
Sunday, 25 July 2021
Venue: Sapporo Dome, Sapporo
Kick-off: 7.30pm local, 8.30pm AEST
Australia v Egypt
Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Venue: Miyagi Stadium, Rifu
Kick-off: 8.00pm local, 9.00pm AEST
The tournament structure and schedule
Australia will be one of 16 nations that will take to the pitch in Tokyo. The qualified nations are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Côte D’Ivoire, Egypt, France, Germany, Honduras, Japan (host country), Korea Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Spain.
Graham Arnold's side will be hoping to advance through to the Quarter Finals as one of the top two finishers.
Australia's best result at a Men's Olympic Football Tournament to date is fourth place at Barcelona 1992, and Australia's U-23's will be setting their sights on going at least one better and taking home our country's first ever Olympic football medal.
Key Dates
Group Stage: Thursday 22nd July 22, Sunday 25th July, Wednesday 28th July
Quarter Finals: Saturday July 31st
Semi Finals: Tuesday August 3rd
Bronze Medal Match: Friday August 6th
Gold Medal Match: Saturday August 7th
The squad
The Olympic tournament features under-23 players, with three overage players eligible for selection. The delay to Tokyo 2020 resulted in an extension of the age group, so any player eligible for the initial competition dates in 2020 remains eligible for the Games this year.
Coached by Seoul 1988 Olympian Graham Arnold, Australia’s ambitious men’s Football team for Tokyo 2020 includes players currently playing for clubs across the A-League, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Many members of the squad have enjoyed recent success at club and international level, with Denis Genreau, Connor Metcalfe, Harry Souttar and Mitchell Duke starring for the Socceroos in June, Nathaniel Atkinson, Tom Glover, and Joel King featuring in Sunday’s A-League Grand Final in Melbourne, and youngster Caleb Watts making his Premier League debut in England last season.
Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo – Men’s Football
|
Name |
Position |
Age |
|
Daniel Arzani |
Forward |
22 |
|
Nathaniel Atkinson |
Defender |
22 |
|
Keanu Baccus |
Midfielder |
23 |
|
Nicholas D'Agostino |
Forward |
23 |
|
Thomas Deng |
Defender |
24 |
|
Mitchell Duke* |
Forward |
30 |
|
Denis Genreau |
Midfielder |
22 |
|
Thomas Glover |
Goalkeeper |
23 |
|
Joel King |
Defender |
20 |
|
Ashley Maynard-Brewer |
Goalkeeper |
22 |
|
Riley McGree |
Midfielder |
22 |
|
Connor Metcalfe |
Midfielder |
21 |
|
Dylan Pierias |
Midfielder |
21 |
|
Reno Piscopo |
Forward |
23 |
|
Kye Rowles |
Defender |
23 |
|
Harry Souttar |
Defender |
22 |
|
Ruon Tongyik* |
Defender |
24 |
|
Caleb Watts |
Midfielder |
19 |
*All players participating in the Tokyo 2020 Men’s Football Tournament shall be born on or after 1 January 1997. However, a maximum of three (3) players who do not meet this age limit may also be included in the official list of players for the final competition. Mitchell Duke (born 18 January 1991) and Ruon Tongyik (born 28 December 1996) have been selected as Australia’s overage players for Tokyo 2020.
Cameron Devlin, Jordan Holmes (goalkeeper), Ramy Najjarine and Lachlan Wales have been named as the Train On Players. If called up to the team due to injury or other circumstances, they would be selected to the Australian Olympic Team at that time.
The draw
April's draw marked a key milestone ahead of the highly anticipated Tokyo 2020 tournament, which will be the first time that both Australian men's and women's football teams appear at the same Games since Athens 2004.
Australia were drawn into Group C of the Men's Football Tournament at Tokyo 2020 alongside Argentina, Spain and Egypt.
The Olyroos will take on familiar foes Argentina, who they faced in 2004 and 2008, as well as Spain who they faced once before during Atlanta 1996, and Egypt who are first-time opponents at Olympic level.
Graham Arnold's side booked their first Olympic spot since 2008 in January 2020 after finishing third at the AFC U-23 Championship in Thailand and, following the postponement of the Games last year, will kick off their Tokyo 2020 campaign on 22nd July 2021.
Olyroos Head Coach Graham Arnold said the opportunity for many of Australia’s best young players to challenge themselves against the world’s best would be great for their careers.
“I believe we have received a fantastic draw, and it will be a great experience for our boys,” Arnold said. “In the past playing against Argentina has brought the best out of Australian footballers, while the opportunity for us to play against a top African nation in Egypt, as well as Spain, is a great opportunity to show what we have got.”
“My expectations are very high from ourselves as a team. With the delay of the Olympics for a year due to COVID, it has enabled our players to get a lot of game time, and I truly believe that we are in a better position at this time than last year. A good number of players are playing every week.”
“The Olympics is the second biggest stage in international football after the World Cup, and the next few months will present a great opportunity for our team to perform well, but also for individuals to commence the next part of their careers.”
The journey to Tokyo
The young Aussies earned themselves a spot at the Tokyo Olympic Games to be played out later this year with a tightly-fought win over Uzbekistan in the AFC U-23 Championship third-place playoff.
The victory - inspired by a brilliant solo goal by Nick D'Agostino - was the capstone moment of a long, arduous journey to qualifying for the Olympic Games which began in March, 2019.
To qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games the Australia U-23’s first had to qualify for the AFC Championship, where the top three sides of the competition would ultimately book their flights to Tokyo 2020.
First up on the qualification route was a game against Cambodia U-23’s at Pnomh Penh Olympic Stadium on March 22, 2019, a game Australia won 6-0.
Two days after putting six goals past Cambodia Australia U-23’s scored six more, this time against Chinese Taipei at Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium.
The Green and Gold needed a draw against Korea Republic to progress to the AFC Championship and that’s exactly what they got when they played out a 2-2 draw in Cambodia.
Ten months on from qualification the Australia U-23’s got their 2020 AFC Championship campaign underway in Thailand with a 1-1 draw against Iraq.
Trailing 1-0 to host nation Thailand at Rajamangala National Stadium, the Green and Gold were in need of a hero to set them back on track at the 2020 AFC Championship.
Staring down the barrel of a defeat and just one point from their first two games, D’Agostino’s double secured a 2-1 win which instead launched Australia to the top of Group A.
Graham Arnold’s side progressed to the knockout stages of an AFC Championship campaign for the first time since 2013 with a 1-1 draw against Bahrain in the final game of the group stage.
Australia had a date with destiny in their sights if they could beat Syria in their quarter-final clash, but a goalless 90 minutes set up a tense half hour of extra time to decide who would make it to the all-important semi-final.
Al Hassan Toure would prove to be the hero this time, sliding home a 101st minute-winner to send Australia within one result of an Olympic berth.
But with exactly that on the line, it was Korea Republic who surged to a 2-0 semi-final win to send Australia to an all-or-nothing playoff.
Heading into the third-place playoff against Uzbekistan with everything on the line, Graham Arnold's Australia U-23's rose to the challenge to seal a 1-0 victory and their place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
As he had time and time again throughout the campaign, D'Agostino stood up with a goal when his country needed it most - and full-time scenes of jubilation would follow: Australia were on their way to their first Olympic Men's Football Tournament in 12 years.
How to watch
The Seven Network is the official broadcaster of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Australia. Men's and Women's football matches featuring Australia will be available via the Seven Network throughout July and August.
More information: Football at the Olympic Games
