Canada kicks off London 2012 against Japan on Wednesday

Canada will face Japan in the opening day of the London 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament this Wednesday 25 July. The two sides will meet in Coventry, England for a 17.00 local kick off at the City of Coventry Stadium. Also on 25 July in Coventry, group opponents Sweden and South Africa will kick off at 19.45.

This marks Canada’s second participation in the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Four years ago, Canada opened with a 2:1 win over Argentina at Beijing 2008. Japan, meanwhile, opened with a 2:2 draw against New Zealand who, incidentally, were coached by now-Canadian head coach John Herdman.

“This time, Japan is coming into the tournament as FIFA Women’s World Cup champions,” said Herdman. “They are such a good team and they are pretty formidable now. The confidence of winning a FIFA Women’s World Cup means mentally they may not crumble like they use to in a big tournament.”

From the goal out, Canada’s Olympic squad features Karina LeBlanc and Erin McLeod as goalkeepers, Emily Zurrer, Carmelina Moscato, Robyn Gayle, Rhian Wilkinson, Candace Chapman, Chelsea Stewart and Lauren Sesselmann as defenders, and Kaylyn Kyle, Diana Matheson, Desiree Scott, Christine Sinclair, Sophie Schmidt, Melissa Tancredi, Kelly Parker, Jonelle Filigno and Brittany Timko from the midfield up through to the attack.

Twelve teams will compete at the London 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament from 25 July to 9 August. Teams are split into three groups, with Great Britain, Brazil, Cameroon and New Zealand in Group E, Canada, Japan, South Africa and Sweden in Group F, and Colombia, France, Korea DPR and USA in Group G. In the London 2012 group phase, Canada will face Japan on 25 July, South Africa on 28 July, and Sweden on 31 July.

For full coverage of Canada’s road to the London 2012 Olympics, fans can follow all the news at CanadaSoccer.com. Fans are also encouraged to connect with Canada’s national teams via twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN, facebook.com/CanadaSoccer, flickr.com/canadasoccer, and youtube.com/canadasoccertv.