GB women’s team to play at Tokyo 2020

Great Britain’s women’s football team reached the quarter-finals at the 2012 Olympics in London

Team GB will have a football team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, after England were assured to finish as one of the three best-placed European teams at the Women’s World Cup.

United States beat World Cup hosts France 2-1 in the quarter-finals on Friday resulting in England’s qualification for next summer’s multi-sport showpiece in Japan, with the Lionesses’ place going to Team GB.

The two remaining quarter-final matches are all-European encounters, with Italy facing European champions Netherlands and Germany meeting Sweden on Saturday.

England will face USA in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals on Tuesday

FIFA confirmed England were nominated to try and claim one of the three European spots available by the football associations of the four home nations in October 2018, but the agreement did not apply to a men’s team.

Team GB’s women’s football team reached the quarter-finals on their debut at London 2012, where their male counterparts lost at the same stage on their return to the Olympics after a 40-year absence.

No combined Great Britain football team featured at the Rio Olympics in 2016, after the English FA’s desire to field men’s and women’s team was met by opposition from the other home nations.

Phil Neville’s Lionesses, who beat Norway 3-0 to reach their second consecutive Women’s World Cup semi-final, will face USA on Tuesday as they aim to win a maiden major tournament.

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