8.00pm: New Zealand v South Korea (Group B) at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium
Everything seems to be in place for the Oly Whites to make a splash at the Tokyo Olympics over the coming two weeks with coach Danny Hay saying the squad is well positioned to defy their outsider status.
New Zealand, the lowest-ranked country to qualify for the Olympics by a long way, gets their Games campaign underway tonight against 2016 Rio bronze medallists and world No 39 South Korea. The challenge looks daunting on paper but talk within the squad instead conveys a feeling of growing belief.
"Korea were bronze medallists [at the] last Olympics for a reason," Hay said.
"We've watched a lot of footage of them. They're a good side, they've got real strengths in a lot of areas. Counter-attack is one of them, they're a very, very capable team.
"You can see by their results leading into this tournament, really positive results against Argentina. [I] watched them play against France the other day, they played them off the park."
However, the time the Oly Whites have spent in Japan so far, including a win and defeat against Australia in two warm-up matches, has the players "fizzing" ahead of Thursday night.
"It's been such a long time since we've had these players as one, so the connections and the bond we've developed in this time is going to stand us in good stead as we lead in to a tough game against Korea," Hay said.
"I couldn't be happier with this group of players. The approach they've taken is doing New Zealand proud to this point."
