04 March 2020

Australia's Matildas say their focus is solely on football and coronavirus is not a concern

Australia's women's football team have said they are not fazed by the coronavirus outbreak and are focused purely on football after severe disruptions to their Olympic qualifiers.

The Matildas were due to travel to Wuhan in February but their group B fixtures were moved to Sydney and subsequently postponed when the Chinese team were quarantined.

There are few sides that have faced more disruptions than the Australian footballers but striker Kyah Simon says this has made them somewhat numb to the fallout from the outbreak.

"As footballers, as professional athletes you are always going to have distractions on and off the field," she said.

She was adamant that they need to ignore the uncontrollable factors and focus on the game.

"All we have to do is worry about what our job is and ensure we are in the best possible condition we can be in and playing the best football we can."

"The only thing in the forefront of our mind is the football side of things. We have full trust in the associations and the people organising it that make sure our health is a priority," she added.

Simon and the Matildas will face Vietnam in the two-legged series starting on Friday and will qualify for the Olympics should they win.

They will then travel to Vietnam for Wednesday's return leg. 

While Vietnam has fewer reported outbreaks than Australia, they will be playing in Cam Pha, which is only 125km from the Chinese border.

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