WEMBLEY, England — While Britain struggles to fully embrace its men's Olympic football team, the women are having no problems getting accepted.
The British women go into Tuesday's match against Brazil already assured of a place in the quarterfinals having won its first two Group E games. The women will now get a chance to showcase their play to an expected 70,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium, where a raucous reception is anticipated. The men won at Wembley on Sunday but continue to face questions about their allegiance, with the Welsh players not singing the national anthem before games.
Women's coach Hope Powell says that while politics has an impact on the idea of a unified British Olympic team, "this gives us an opportunity, an experience, to play on biggest stage for women's football — what a stage (Wembley is) to do this on."