Here is what the Matildas’ subsequent stage of Olympic qualifying seems like and the way Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour components in

The Matildas are by way of to the third and ultimate stage of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Video games after successful three straight video games in Perth.

With the worldwide window closed once more, the Australian stars as soon as once more disperse to all corners of the globe, earlier than they reconvene to face Uzbekistan in February.

So, how did we get right here, what do the Matildas must do to make it to Paris and the way do Taylor Swift, Pink and the WWE think about?

What occurred in spherical two of Olympic qualifying?

Australia topped Group A within the second spherical of qualifying (the primary spherical was only for lower-ranked groups) thanks to 3 straight wins over Iran, Philippines and Chinese language Taipei.

And, thanks largely to an 8-0 thumping of Philippines within the second match in entrance of 60,000 followers at Perth Stadium, the Matildas are the highest seed heading into the ultimate spherical of qualifying with a plus-13 objective distinction.

Japan and North Korea topped the opposite two teams, with Uzbekistan additionally making it by way of after considerably surprisingly ending because the best-placed runner-up.

In Group B, South Korea seemed nicely positioned to snag that ultimate spot after a 10-1 win over Thailand and a 0-0 draw with North Korea, however on the final match day, the North beat Thailand 7-0 and the South drew 1-1 with China.

In the meantime, in Tashkent, whereas Japan remained good to prime Group C, Uzbekistan’s 3-0 win over India gave it a second victory from three matches.

Uzbekistan and Philippines each completed second of their teams with 2-1 win-loss data, however the extent of the loss to Australia meant Philippines completed with a minus-4 objective distinction, whereas Uzbekistan made it by way of with a plus-2.

What does the ultimate spherical of qualifying seem like?

Australia vs Uzbekistan and Japan vs North Korea in February, with each winners qualifying for Paris 2024 because the Asian Soccer Confederation (AFC) is assigned two locations on the Olympic Video games.

The Matildas and fourth-seeded Uzbekistan will face off twice, as soon as at dwelling and as soon as away, with Japan and North Korea doing the identical.

It is the identical as two-legged playoffs within the knockout phases of the Champions League or World Cup qualifying.

Two wins clearly will get you over the road, but when the video games are cut up 1-1 it comes all the way down to an combination rating.

If that is tied, away targets are weighted extra closely than targets at dwelling.

And if it is nonetheless even after that, we get further time and penalties a la the Socceroos’ 2005 shootout towards Uruguay to succeed in the lads’s World Cup.

What to anticipate from Uzbekistan

The Matildas can be overwhelming favourites once they go up towards Uzbekistan, which has by no means reached the Girls’s World Cup or Olympic Video games.

At present ranked fiftieth on the earth, Uzbekistan completed fourth within the Asian Video games in October, dropping 8-0 within the semifinals towards North Korea earlier than happening 7-0 to China within the third-placed playoff.

Like Australia, the Uzbeks had the good thing about taking part in your complete second spherical of qualifying at dwelling, scoring an upset 1-0 win over Thirty fourth-ranked Vietnam to kick off the spherical, dropping 2-0 to Japan and scraping by way of after a 3-0 win over India.

Uzbekistan is the ninth-best AFC group in keeping with the FIFA rankings, having reached an all-time excessive of thirty eighth on the earth in 2011.

The Eleventh-ranked Matildas are second in Asia, behind world quantity eight Japan.

The place will the Matildas play Uzbekistan and the way does Taylor Swift think about?

Matildas and Arsenal defender Steph Catley this week flagged she needed to see their dwelling qualifier performed on the MCG.

After the repeated sell-outs on the Girls’s World Cup, Soccer Australia moved the second of their three video games in Perth to the town’s 60,000-seat AFL floor, which was additionally a full home.

The most important crowd to ever witness a Matildas match got here on the World Cup, when 75,784 packed Sydney’s Olympic stadium, which had a lowered, FIFA-sanctioned capability for the event.

Soccer Australia chief govt James Johnson informed Channel 9 the prospect of taking part in the house leg of the qualifying tie on the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Floor was “thrilling … and we might fancy our probabilities to promote it out”.

However the Australian leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour begins on the MCG with exhibits on February 16, 17 and 18. She’s additionally performing on the Olympic Stadium in Sydney the next Friday to Monday.

Different stadiums that may match 50,000-plus followers in, Brisbane and Melbourne, are taken up by Pink on those self same weekends, acting at Lang Park on February 16 and 17, and Docklands Stadium on February 23 and 24.

The 60,000-seat Perth Stadium is internet hosting a Twenty20 between Australia’s males’s group and the West Indies on February 13, which might make for a tough turnaround for the next weekend, with a WWE present on Saturday, February 24.

Who’s already certified for Paris and what number of spots are left?

The Paris Olympics technically run from July 26 to August 11, however the soccer competitors, as normal, begins a few days earlier, on July 24.

There are 12 groups within the girls’s soccer competitors in Paris, with the host nation at all times given a spot.