In this Olympic group stage, our women's soccer team will compete with Brazil, the Netherlands and Zambia. International rankings show that the strength of Brazilian and Dutch women's soccer surpasses that of our team, while the Zambian women's soccer team on its first Olympic trip is relatively weak. According to the Olympic rules, the top two in the group advance directly, while the third best performer in the two groups also has a chance to qualify. For our women's soccer team to advance, they will have to earn points from Brazil and the Netherlands while winning against Zambia. Next, we will analyze in depth the three opponents our women's soccer team faces in the group stage.
Opponent Analysis - Brazilian Women's Soccer
The Brazilian women's soccer team, a traditional powerhouse, is ranked seventh internationally. In retrospect, the overall performance of Brazilian women's soccer has been slightly better than that of our women's soccer team in recent years, having won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, as well as the second place in the 2007 Women's International Cup and the third place in the 1999 Women's International Cup. The Brazilian women's soccer team enjoys a dominant position in South America, having won the championship four times.
Since the 3-2 victory over the Brazilian women's soccer team at the 1996 Olympics, the country's women's soccer team has been repeatedly crushed by the Brazilian women's soccer team over the next 23 years, including a 0-4 defeat at the 2007 International Cup, a 0-3 loss at the 2016 Olympics, and a 0-0 draw at the 2019 Four Nations Tournament. The Brazilian women's squad features 11 players who have previously competed in the Olympics, and 35-year-old veteran Marta is expected to lead the team at full strength as she pushes for Olympic gold for the fifth time.
Brazilian women's soccer "living fossil" Formiga 43 years old, participated in every Olympic Games since 1996, experienced, will create problems for our women's soccer team. The Brazilian women's soccer team has performed strongly in recent warm-up matches, with outstanding speed and footwork, so our women's soccer team needs to pay attention to defense and reduce the difficulty of goalkeeper Peng Shimeng's saves.
Facing the advantage of Brazilian women's soccer team, our women's soccer team needs to be firm in their beliefs, play their own characteristics, strengthen the co-defense, use the physical advantage to slow down the opponents, and wait for the opportunity to appear by Wang Shuang and Wang Shanshan to end the attack.
Opponent Analysis - Zambia Women's Football Team
Zambia women's soccer team debuted at the Olympic Games, and beat Cameroon women's soccer team in the African Zone qualifier in a blowout to qualify for the Olympics. Currently ranked 104th in the international rankings, it is weak and is a key opponent for our women's soccer team to advance.
Barbara Banda, the captain of Zambia Women's Football Team, had started her career in La Liga and had performed well in Shanghai Agricultural and Commercial Bank Team, with excellent physical quality and skills. Facing the Zambian women's soccer team, our women's soccer team needs to pay attention to Banda's individual ability and strengthen the defense.
Opponent Analysis - Netherlands Women's Football Team
The Dutch women's soccer team made its debut in the International Cup in 2015 and has improved significantly in just a few years, having finished as runners-up in the 2019 Women's International Cup. Currently ranked third in the international rankings, the team is strong.
Viviane Miedema, the number one player of the Dutch women's soccer team, used to play for Bayern Munich women's soccer team in the German Bundesliga and helped the team win the championship of the German women's soccer league. Facing the Dutch women's soccer team, our women's soccer team needs to learn from the Spanish and Italian women's soccer team's style of play, focusing on defense, layer by layer, and focusing on Miedema.
