The Olyroos will end a 13-year exile from the Olympic Games when they represent Australia at the delayed Tokyo Games in July.
After narrowly qualifying for the event, coach Graham Arnold has repeatedly backed his side to walk away from Tokyo with the nation's first ever medal in football .
Australia must first overcome a tricky group stage however where they face two football giants and another that could boast a Liverpool superstar.
Sporting News wraps up all you need to know about the Olyroos and their quest for a medal in Tokyo...
Olyroos group match details and broadcast schedule
| Date | Time (AEST) | Match | Stadium | Broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu July 22 | 8.30pm | Australia 2-0 Argentina | Sapporo Dome | Channel Seven |
| Sun July 25 | 8.30pm | Australia 0-1 Spain | Sapporo Dome | Channel Seven |
| Wed July 28 | 9.00pm | Australia 0-2 Egypt | Miyagi Stadium | Channel Seven |
Olyroos Group C standings
| Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
| Egypt | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Argentina | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
The winner of Group C will play the runner-up of Group D, while the runner-up of Group C will face the winner of Group D.
Group D consists of Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia.
Olyroos full squad for the Tokyo Games
| Player | Club | Position | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Arzani | Manchester City | Forward | 22 |
| Nathaniel Atkinson | Melbourne City | Defender | 22 |
| Keanu Baccus | Western Sydney Wanderers | Midfielder | 23 |
| Nicholas D'Agostino | Free Agent | Forward | 23 |
| Thomas Deng | Urawa Red Diamonds | Defender | 24 |
| Mitchell Duke (over-age player) | Western Sydney Wanderers | Forward | 30 |
| Denis Genreau | Macarthur United | Midfielder | 22 |
| Thomas Glover | Melbourne City | Goalkeeper | 23 |
| Joel King | Sydney FC | Defender | 20 |
| Ashley Maynard-Brewer | Charlton Athletic | Goalkeeper | 22 |
| Riley McGree | Birmingham City | Midfielder | 22 |
| Connor Metcalfe | Melbourne City | Midfielder | 21 |
| Dylan Pierias | Western United | Midfielder | 21 |
| Reno Piscopo | Wellington Phoenix | Forward | 23 |
| Kye Rowles | Central Coast Mariners | Defender | 23 |
| Harry Souttar | Stoke City | Defender | 22 |
| Jay Rich-Baghuelou | Crystal Palace | Defender | 21 |
| Caleb Watts | Southampton | Midfielder | 19 |
| Cameron Devlin | Newcastle Jets | Midfielder | 23 |
| Jordan Holmes | Ebbsfleet | Goalkeeper | 24 |
| Lachlan Wales | Western United | Forward | 23 |
| Marco Tilio | Melbourne City | Forward | 19 |
Ruon Tongyik and Ramy Najjarine were late withdrawals from the initial squad with Jay Rich-Baghuelou and Marco Tilio late additions.
Other Group C squads
ARGENTINA
Goalkeepers: Joaquin Blazquez, Lautaro Morales, Jeremias Ledesma*
Defenders: Hernan de la Fuente, Marcelo Herrera, Nehuen Perez, Leonel Mosevich, Facundo Medina, Francisco Ortega, Claudio Bravo
Midfielders: Fausto Vera, Santiago Colombatto, Tomas Belmonte, Martin Payero, Thiago Almada, Esequiel Barco
Forwards: Carlos Valenzuela, Pedro de la Vega, Alexis Mac Allister, Agustin Urzi, Adolfo Gaich, Ezequiel Ponce
*Over-aged player
EGYPT
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shenawy*, Mohamed Sobhy, Mahmoud Gad
Defenders: Ahmed Hegazi*, Mahmoud Hamdy, Mohamed Abdel Salam, Osama Galal, Ahmed Ramadan, Karim El-Eraky, Karim Fouad, Ahmed Abou El Fotouh
Midfielders : Akram Tawfik, Amar Hamdy, Nasser Maher, Emam Ashour
Forwards : Ramadan Sobhi, Ibrahim Adel, Abdel Rahman Magdy, Taher Mohamed, Salah Mohsen, Nasser Mansi, Ahmed Yasser
*Over-aged player
SPAIN
Goalkeepers: Alex Dominguez, Alvaro Fernandes, Unai Simon
Defenders: Eric Garcia, Juan Miranda, Oscar Mingueza, Oscar Gil, Pau Torres, Jesus Vallejo
Midfielders: Pedri, Bryan Gil, Martin Zubimendi, Marc Cucurella, Jon Moncayola, Dani Olmo, Carlos Soler, Dani Ceballos*, Mikel Merino*, Marco Asensio*
Forwards: Javi Puado, Rafa Mir, Mikel Oyarzabal
*Over-aged player
How to watch Olyroos games in Australia
The Seven Network has exclusive rights to broadcast every event of the Tokyo Olympics in Australia.
Events, including the Olyroos games, will be shown on television across their three respective channels: 7, 7TWO, and 7mate.
They will also be live streaming their televised events via 7+ which will have a dedicated Olympics channel that can be accessed online or via the app .
Prior to the Games, the Olyroos friendlies in June can be streamed via the Socceroos website and the My Football YouTube channel .
Olyroos results before the Games
| Date | Match | Scorers |
|---|---|---|
| 15 July 2021 | Olyroos 1-0 New Zealand | Duke (First half) |
| 12 July 2021 | Olyroos 0-2 New Zealand | |
| 13 Jun 2021 | Olyroos 2-3 Mexico | Arzani (31', 50') |
| 9 Jun 2021 | Olyroos 0-1 Romania | |
| 2 Jun 2021 | Olyroos 1-2 Republic of Ireland | Najjarine (72') |
| 17 Nov 2020 | Macarthur FC 1-2 Olyroos | Metcalfe (78'), Najjarine (79') |
| 12 Nov 2020 | Sydney FC 3-0 Olyroos | |
| 25 Jan 2020 | Olyroos 1-0 Uzbekistan | D'Agostino (47') |
| 22 Jan 2020 | Olyroos 0-2 South Korea |
How did the Olyroos seal their spot at Tokyo?
Australia qualified for the Games after beating Uzbekistan 1-0 in a third-place playoff at the AFC U-23 Championship in early 2020.
The Olyroos topped their group at the tournament and beat Syria in the quarter-finals before losing 2-0 against South Korea in the semi-finals.
That result left them needing to beat Uzbekistan to seal their spot at Tokyo and they did that in dramatic fashion with Nicholas D'Agostino scoring a superb winner in the 47th minute.
— Socceroos (@Socceroos) January 25, 2020
The Olyroos' record at the Olympic Games
Australia have qualified for the Olympic Games five times with their last appearance coming in 2008.
The green and gold's first outing came in 1992 when they achieved their best result and finished fourth after losing 1-0 against Ghana in a third-place playoff.
In the next two Games, Australia failed to escape their groups and won just one of their six matches.
In 2004, the Olyroos scraped through to the quarter-finals but lost 1-0 against a spirited Iraq side. Four years later, they scored just one goal across three matches and failed to qualify for the knockout stages.