After scoring four goals and earning no wins in their five friendly matches under Gustavsson, the Matildas flicked the switch in time for their first competitive outing since qualifying for the tournament in March 2020.

Japan fell behind to a sixth minute Christine Sinclair goal but Iwabuchi displayed her awesome talent when she collected a long-range pass, squeezed past two Canadian defenders before flicking the ball over substitute ‘keeper Kailen Sheridan to salvage a draw in the 84th minute.

China PR, fielding a largely inexperienced lineup, fell behind by two goals going into the break and were unable to stop Brazil from scoring three more in the second half at the Miyagi Stadium.

The Real Madrid forward struck 19 minutes from time to secure victory for Hajime Moriyasu and his team against a South Africa side that offered little threat but who could have stolen a point late in the game.

Kubo’s curling effort went in off the inside of Ronwen Williams’ right post in the 71st minute to give Japan the lead but Luther Singh should have levelled the scores six minutes later with his side’s first effort on target, only to find the hands of goalkeeper Kosei Tani.

The East Asians dominated proceedings but were unable to make their chances count and were made to pay with 20 minutes to play when Chris Wood scored against the run of play with what proved to be the only goal of the game.

Kim Hak-bum’s side now need a response in their next match against Romania on Sunday while New Zealand will look to build on a first-ever victory at the Games when they take on Honduras on the same day. Romania edged Honduras 1-0 on Thursday.

An early goal from Lachlan Wales gave the Olyroos a dream start before substitute Marco Tilio scored in his first involvement of the match 10 minutes from time to give Australia their first win in the tournament since 2004.

The result, coupled with Spain’s goalless draw with Egypt earlier on Thursday, means Graham Arnold’s men top the standings after Matchday One.

Coach Saad Al Shehri’s men started brightly, applying a high press game on their opponents, repeatedly winning the ball in the Ivorian half, but without creating much in terms of scoring chances in the opening 30 minutes.