Theres a calmness emanating from the Football Ferns camp ahead of Wednesday nights (UK time) Olympic Games opener against Great Britain at Cardiffs Millennium Stadium. The first event of the London Olympics the match is two days before the opening ceremony is the first time a Great Britain womens team has ever played at the Games and the first Great Britain match at any Olympics since 1960 so there is an extra sense of occasion about the fixture, something only amplified by the iconic Welsh venue. However, the Ferns are showing little sign of being distracted or overawed by that and captain Rebecca Smith says the team are now just ready to play. Weve been preparing for this game for a long time, Smith said. Weve played some pretty big teams in the build up, had some decent results and improved with every game so from a performance standpoint were confident we can give the best performance were capable of. Being here in Cardiff and being part of the Olympics is an amazing experience and players are excited, feeling fresh and ready to go out and play. Great Britain are a great side but as the host nation therell be a lot of pressure on them. Theyre the better team on paper so weve got nothing to lose by going out there and playing our game. Great Britain and England coach Hope Powell has added only two Scottish players to an otherwise all English playing squad giving the Great Britain team a familiar look despite their Olympic debut. New Zealand have met England twice since 2010 drawing the first encounter and losing 2-1 at last years Womens World Cup after leading for most of the match. New Zealand coach Tony Readings has a full squad to choose from for the match with Ali Riley back to full training after missing last weeks international against Colombia through injury. He has two more sessions on Tuesday to settle on a starting 11 but says whoever gets the chance to be get New Zealands 2012 Olympic campaign underway will embrace the honour. We are always proud to pull on the New Zealand shirt and to do it at the Olympics is even more special because you are representing not just the football people of New Zealand but representing the whole country and part of the wider Team New Zealand, Readings said before his sides walkover of Millennium Stadium pitch. To be the first New Zealand athletes to compete is magic for us and were really looking forward to it. I guess there could be some added pressures but for us theres more pressure on the hosts in front of an expectant crowd. For us its just another game of football. Weve played in front of big crowds many times now we played in front of 55,000 at the World Cup in 2007 so its not something that fazes our players anymore. We play most of our games away from home so this one is no different. Its a proud moment but one that were relishing and we cant wait to get on the pitch. The Football Ferns take on Great Britain at 3am on Thursday (NZT) with Group E rivals Brazil and Cameroon clashing at 5.45am (NZT), also in Cardiff. Womens Olympic Football Tournament Group E Great Britain v New Zealand Millennium Stadium, Cardiff July 25, 4pm (3am, July 26 NZT) Live on Sky Sport 5 London 1908 Olympic Summer Games Football
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