South Africa vs. Sweden - Watch Live

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Samford soccer player Jermaine Seoposenwe, who is a starting striker on the South Africa National Team, will officially begin her journey in the 2016 Olympic Games on Wednesday at 11 a.m. (CDT) as South Africa squares off against Sweden in the opening match of the world-wide competition to be held at Olympic Stadium.
 
Sweden is ranked No. 6 in the world and defeated South Africa in the 2012 London Olympics, 4-1.  

"It is now up to them, they need to show that they are ready for it and leave all the little things behind them in the dressing room and that they make it the best games that they could ever have," said South Africa head coach Vera Pauw.
 
Seoposenwe, who will be a senior on the Samford soccer team this fall, is a native of Cape Town, South Africa, and is widely regarded as one of the best young soccer players in her home country.
 
Late in 2015, in a must-win Olympic qualifier held on the road against Equatorial Guinea at the Estadio de Bata, Seoposenwe scored the team's game-winning goal and lifted Banyana Banyana to a thrilling 1-0 victory, securing the team's bid to the 2016 Olympic Games.
 
Seoposenwe tallied South Africa's decisive goal in the 54th minute to silence the home crowd and lift Banyana Banyana to its 1-0 lead. South Africa then successfully protected its advantage to register the 1-0 aggregate win and secure a place in the Olympic Games.
 
Seoposenwe was a member of South Africa's U17 World Cup squad and scored a goal and tacked on an assist against South Korea on Sept. 5, 2010. She also scored a goal against perennial powerhouse Germany in another World Cup qualifying match held at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago on Sept. 8, 2010.
 
Additionally, Seoposenwe was selected in 2012 to join the South African Senior Women's National Team, which featured the best 22 players in the nation. She was also named South Africa's Young Player of the Year in 2010 by the South African Football Association.
 
Last year, in her second season as a member of Samford's regular-season Southern Conference championship squad, Seoposenwe finished the 2015 campaign ranked No.7 in the nation in assists per match (0.61) and No. 9 in the country with 11 assists.
 
As a sophomore with the Bulldogs, her first season at Samford, Seoposenwe led the team with 13 assists and scored nine goals, which ranked second on the squad. She set the school's all-time single-season record in points with 31 and surpassed former Bulldog-great Marian Wagner, who set the previous mark in 2002. Seoposenwe also set the school's single-season assist record with 13.
 
Seoposenwe scored South Africa's lone goal in a 4-1 defeat in its last warm-up friendly against New Zealand in Rio on July 28. Her team has been in camp almost continuously since late last year and toughened up by friendly defeats to the Netherlands (1-0 and 2-0), as well as an impressive 1-0 loss to world champions USA in Los Angeles on July 10.
 
Following Wednesday's opening match against Sweden, South Africa's second contest of the competition will be against Brazil on Saturday before facing another tough opponent, China, next Tuesday in their final group match.
 
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South Africa vs. Sweden - Watch Live