24 April 2012

U.S. women's team draws France, Colombia and Korea DPR in 2012 Olympics

The U.S. women's team will face France, Colombia and Korea DPR in Group G at the 2012 London Olympics taking place from July 25-Aug. 9 at six venues throughout Great Britain.

The Olympic Final Draw took place on Tuesday morning in the Bobby Moore Room at Wembley Stadium in London.

The U.S. will open Group G play on July 25 - two days before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies - against France at the famed Hampden Park, Scotland's National Stadium in Glasgow. The Americans will then face Colombia at Hampden Park on July 28 and finish group play against Korea DPR on July 31 at Old Trafford in Manchester,

The USA's draw pits the Americans against three teams it faced at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and two teams it faced in group play in Colombia and Korea DPR. In Germany, the USA played Korea DPR first and now will face the Asian power in the group finale. Like in the Women's World Cup, the USA will play Colombia second.

France is currently sixth in FIFA Women's World Rankings, Korea DPR is eighth and Colombia is 28th.

"It's always exciting to know who we will be playing," said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. "We will start with an excellent opponent that we faced in the World Cup and that is a good thing. Once again, we will be facing teams with different playing styles and that is a challenge our team enjoys."

The Olympic Women's Football Tournament features 12 teams, with the top two finishers in each group advancing to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.

Drawn into Group E with the host nation Great Britain were New Zealand, Cameroon and Brazil. Group F will consist of Japan, Canada, Sweden and South Africa.
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