Canada Women and Great Britain Women square off on Tuesday in the third round of fixtures in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Women's Football group stage.
Team GB currently sit at the top of Group E having won both of their games, while their opponents occupy second place with a win and a draw from their two group matches.
Match preview
Canada Women looked set to kick off their Olympics campaign with a victory against host nation Japan in the first game of the tournament.
Christine Sinclair gave them the lead after just six minutes, and they would remain ahead for the majority of the encounter until Japan drew level through Mana Iwabuchi in the 84th minute, forcing Canada to share the points.
They would not have to wait long for their first victory of the Olympic campaign, though, as Bev Priestman's team recorded a 2-1 win against Chile in the following game.
Janine Beckie opened the scoring for the Canadian team on the stroke of half time and quickly doubled the lead early in the second half, and they would hold on for the victory despite Karen Araya pulling a goal back for their opponents on the hour mark from a free kick.
With a three-point lead over third-placed Japan going into the final round of group fixtures, Canada Women will know that they need to earn a point in order to confirm their passage to the knockout stage, although their tally of four points may see them through as one of the best third-placed sides should they be overtaken.
A victory will certainly be a tough task, though, as Priestman leads her side into a clash with Great Britain, who have won both of their games so far in the tournament.
The British side started their campaign with a fairly routine 2-0 victory over Chile in Sapporo.
It took Ellen White just 18 minutes to open the scoring, and she would eventually add her second to double the lead in the final 20 minutes, seeing Team GB to their first win.
White would then hit her third goal of the tournament to fire her side to a 1-0 victory over Japan in the following game, as Hege Riise's side eventually made the breakthrough in the 74th minute.
That victory saw Team GB book their spot in the quarter-finals as one of the top two sides in Group E, and a draw or victory on Tuesday would see them secure first place, earning a more favourable quarter-final draw as a result.
Having come into the tournament as one of the favourites, Great Britain Women will now look to finish the campaign in a strong manner to build more momentum going into the knockout campaign.
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
Team News
The Canada Women's line will be led by Christine Sinclair, who is the all-time record goalscorer in international football with 187 goals for her country.
She will be joined in attack by Janine Beckie, who will play with confidence after hitting a brace to fire her nation to a 2-1 win over Chile last time out.
Further back, Desiree Scott offers plenty of quality and experience in the midfield, having made over 160 international appearances at the age of 33.
Kailen Sheridan will likely continue to be selected in goal after Stephanie Labbe was forced off through injury in the opening game against Japan.
Ellen White should certainly feature prominently in attack for Great Britain Women, having scored all three of their goals so far at the tournament to earn two victories.
The experienced trio of Steph Houghton, Kim Little and Sophie Ingle will share the responsibility of captaincy at the Olympic Games this year, and all three will play a key role from the start of Tuesday.
Exciting winger Fran Kirby was unable to make the match squad for the opening two games with a slight injury concern, and she is unlikely to be risked with Team GB's qualification already confirmed.
Canada Women possible starting lineup:
Sheridan; Chapman, Zadorsky, Buchanan, Lawrence; Grosso, Scott, Fleming; Beckie, Sinclair, Prince
Great Britain Women possible starting lineup:
Roebuck; Daly, Bright, Houghton, Bronze; Walsh, Ingle, Little; Hemp, White, Parris
We say: Canada Women 1-2 Great Britain Women
Both sides will arguably play their toughest game of the tournament so far on Tuesday, and this should certainly be a close encounter.
While Canada's dangerous front line will pose a threat with Beckie in form and Sinclair's undeniable quality in front of goal, the Great Britain Women back line has looked strong so far, and they should be able to keep it tight while their impressive collection of talent further forward could help them to a narrow victory to complete a perfect group campaign.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
