Matildas midfielder Elise Kellond-Knight says Australia hold no fears ahead of their quarter-final clash with host nation Brazil at the Olympics.
The Matildas’ matchup with Brazil was confirmed after their 6-1 win over Zimbabwe secured a best third-placed finish, pipping Sweden and New Zealand.
The match is expected to be played in front of a capacity crowd of 60,000 in Belo Horizonte, an experience most of, if not all the Australians have not tasted.
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Yet Kellond-Knight insists the Matildas can match Brazil’s talent in front of a roaring home crowd.
“We’ve played Brazil a number of times, twice in the last year and we know that we can match them,” she said.
“Obviously we have to take into account factors like home crowd and obviously expectations on their behalf, but I think given our current form and our playing group, we have a very good chance of progressing to the next round.
“I’m excited. I don’t think I’ve played in front of a crowd that big before (60,000).
“For me, it’s a real opportunity to experience something like this, something you dream about when you’re a kid, playing in front of a big crowd like this.
“I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like because I can struggle to hear things when there’s 20,000, so when there’s 60,000 it’s going to be unreal.”
The match will be played at Mineirao Stadium on Friday, which is the same ground Brazil’s men’s team were hammered 7-1 by Germany in the 2014 World Cup.
Kickoff is at 11am AEST on 13 August.
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