Women SoccerTodayCanada vs Japan 17:50 SS4USA vs France 17:50 SS6Great Britain vs New Zealand 16:50 SS5Sweden vs South Africa 20:30 SS4Cameroon vs Brazil 19:30 SS5Colombia vs Korea DPR 20:30 SS6LONDON – Japan’s women footballers kick off their quest for a rare double on Wednesday as the first action of the 2012 Olympics gets under way.The Asian giants upset the established order of women’s football last year after stunning the heavily favoured United States to win the World Cup in Germany on penalties.The ‘Nadeshiko’ are now attempting to become only the second side in history to hold World Cup and Olympic titles at the same time in London.But Japan, who face Canada in Coventry in their opening Group F game, will be desperate to make a winning start after a troubled build-up which has included defeats to France and the United States.A 2-0 loss to the French in Paris last week ensured Japan’s preparations for the Olympics ended on a downbeat note following an earlier 4-1 thrashing by defending champions the United States in June.The duel losses have reinforced the concerns aired by former coach Ryohei Suzuki that Japan’s women have taken their eye off the ball since landing last year’s World Cup, distracted by a new-found fame and celebrity.Japan, who notched a fourth place finish in Beijing, will nevertheless fancy their chances of progressing from a group which also includes Sweden and South Africa, who also play at Coventry on Wednesday.“Looking back to the Beijing Olympics, we got to the top four but we were the only team that couldn’t get a medal,” Japan coach Norio Sasaki said.“After Beijing our objective was to get a medal in 2012 and, although we won the world championship last year in Germany, the objective has not changed. We really want to go for the gold medal.”
