SYDNEY, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The Australian national women's football team, the Matildas, will welcome China's Steel Roses for friendly games in May and June, Football Australia (FA) confirmed on Tuesday.
The Matildas will play China at Adelaide Oval on May 31 and at Stadium Australia in Sydney on June 3 as send-off matches for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Matildas beat Uzbekistan 13-0 on aggregate over two legs in February to secure qualification for the Olympics.
The first friendly match against the reigning Asian Cup champions will be the first time the Matildas have played in Adelaide since 2019 and the first time they have faced China since a 1-1 draw in Sydney in February 2020.
The Matildas have played in front of 12 consecutive sell-out crowds in Australia, including every game in their run to the semifinals at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
"As we have seen over the past 12 months, the Matildas are a box office entertainment juggernaut with an incredible streak of 12 sold-out home matches with over 600,000 fans in attendance and millions watching the broadcast of these encounters," FA chief executive James Johnson said in a statement.
Peter Malinauskas, the Premier of South Australia (SA), said it was a significant coup to have the national team return to Adelaide.
"The Matildas are an inspiration to young people across the country and it is exciting thousands of South Australians will have the opportunity to see them play live," he said.
The Steel Roses had been based in Adelaide for the 2023 World Cup and played England in their final group stage match in the city in front of 13,497 fans at the 16,500-capacity Hindmarsh Stadium.
Adelaide Oval can hold over 50,000 spectators and Stadium Australia over 80,000. ■
