Football has broken the hearts of Matildas players after confirming their upcoming Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan will be played at Marvel Stadium on February 28.
Defender Steph Catley called for the match to be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground – but two Taylor Swift concerts on February 16 and 18 left FA fearing the surface wouldn’t be of a world-class standard come game time.
Marvel Stadium can accommodate 53,000 plus fans – as opposed to the MCG, which can house 100,024 supporters.
Football has broken the hearts of Matildas players after confirming their upcoming Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan will be played at Marvel Stadium after star defender Steph Catley (pictured) called for the match to be held at the MCG
The Matildas wanted to play Uzbekistan at the country’s best-known ground in front of up to 100,000 fans on February 28
Tony Gustavsson’s squad beat Uzbekistan 10-0 when the two nations last lined up against one another in 2007 – and despite the first leg being in Central Asia on February 24, the World Cup semi-finalists are heavily fancied to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
‘We are so close,’ Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams said ahead of the possibility of snaring a medal at the Games following a fourth place at the Tokyo Olympics.
‘We have a taste of it. It’s almost like you smell the aroma in the air and you definitely want to know what that actually feels like.
‘We are really close and it’s just about the final game, the final push.
‘Having that experience of what it is to not reach that, I think that’s just going to spur us on to want to get to that point.’
Traditional powerhouse Sweden, who beat in Tokyo, have failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time.
Fellow heavyweights Great Britain also missed out, and their absences could open the door for the Matildas to medal in Paris.
Two Taylor Swift concerts at the MCG on February 16 and 18 left Football fearing the surface wouldn’t be of a world class standard come February 28 for the second leg against Uzbekistan
Mary Fowler will be a key figure for the Matildas as they look to qualify for the Paris Olympics
‘Football’s a funny game, you never know who’s going to come through,’ Williams added.
‘No one had really heard of Colombia and they surprised everyone at the World Cup (where they reached the quarter-finals).
‘Anything can happen in the game of football and we just have to make sure that we prepare the best way possible.’
Tickets for the Marvel Stadium match against Uzbekistan go on sale on December 20.