MIDDLESBROUGH'S Riverside Stadium will host Team GB's only warm-up game ahead of the Olympic football tournament, with Samba stars Brazil providing the opposition for the men's team.

Hope Powell's Great Britain women's team will also take on Sweden in an international double-header that has been provisionally scheduled for Friday, July 20.

The event represents a notable coup for Middlesbrough officials, who have been pushing to bring Great Britain's warm-up games to the Riverside for the best part of a year.

Brazil will be back in the North-East at the start of August to face New Zealand at Newcastle's St James' Park following yesterday's Olympic draw at Wembley.

St James' will stage nine Olympic matches - six men's games and three women's - with men's top seeds Mexico and Spain and women's top seeds Japan also appearing on Tyneside.

Stuart Pearce's Great Britain side have been drawn with Uruguay, who could name Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani as their over-age players, Senegal, who could select Newcastle United duo Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba, and UAE in Group A of the Olympic competition.

They open their Olympic campaign against Senegal on Thursday July 26, and their trip to Middlesbrough will form a crucial part of their preparation.

Pearce will name his 18-man squad in the middle of next month, and speculation is mounting as to who will be involved.

He is permitted to select three over-age players, and it has been widely predicted that David Beckham and Ryan Giggs will be offered an opportunity to represent GB.

Pearce will travel to Seattle to watch Beckham play for the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 2, but insists he is under no pressure to pick the veteran midfielder, who was one of the ambassadors that helped London win the right to stage the Olympics in 2005.

"David Beckham will be treated exactly the same as any other individual, whether it is young or over-age," said Pearce.

"Form and fitness will dictate what the make-up of the squad will be - David falls into the same category. I have a duty of care to the Great Britain squad to try and win a gold medal. I will pick the strongest possible squad I can.

"I will know a bit more when I go to the States to see what form (Beckham) is in. He's made the shortlist and he has been a great ambassador for this country and the Olympics, but that's no recommendation that he will get in the squad and that's fair and square across the board for all players."

Only two North-East based players are understood to be in contention for the squad, with Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell and Middlesbrough goalkeeper Jason Steele named in the 80-man long list that was released last week.

However, North-Easterners Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll are likely to be considered if they do not make the England senior squad for the European Championships in Ukraine.

The Football Association have already confirmed that Pearce will not be able to select anyone for the Olympics that has already been named in the squad for Euro 2012.

That is likely to rule out the likes of Phil Jones, Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck, but Pearce has confirmed that Jack Wilshere is still in his thoughts.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger last week confirmed that Wilshere will miss the European Championships after failing to recover from the ankle injury that has kept him out of the entire season, but the midfielder was nevertheless named in last week's provisional 80-man Olympic squad.

"He is on the shortlist," said Pearce. "We will look at everyone individually and check their fitness and the medical people will speak with the clubs.

"We do have to be acutely aware that with an 18-man squad, and possibly six matches in 16 days, all the players are fully fit. You can't be losing two or three to injury, otherwise you will be on the back foot."

Pearce is currently combining his Olympic duties with the caretaker management of the England senior side, and the former Newcastle full-back once again outlined his willingness to lead the national side into this summer's European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

"I am ready to take the team to the Euros," he said. "It will put me in tournament mode, which I actually see as a benefit (to Olympic preparation) not a hindrance."

Powell has no such distractions to her role as head coach of Great Britain's women's side, and yesterday's draw pitted GB with Cameroon, New Zealand and Brazil.

The Olympic football tournament starts two days before the opening ceremony for the rest of the Games, so the first action of the entire Olympics will be the game between Team GB and New Zealand in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Wednesday, July 25.

"It was highlighted to me some time ago, when our dates were confirmed, that our first game would be at the Millennium Stadium," said Powell, who is expected to name Sunderland-born Jill Scott in her Olympic squad.

"It is the opener and I am really excited by the prospect. The press could be unprecedented.

"That is a good thing. It gives us an opportunity to showcase the sport and raise the profile of women's football in this country."