With a 2-0 win over New Zealand, Sweden locked up top spot in Group G at the 2020 Summer Olympics, rendering Tuesday morning’s 0-0 draw between the USWNT and Australia somewhat meaningless. Both the U.S. and the Matildas will be joining Sweden in the quarterfinals, where the Americans will meet either the Netherlands or Brazil.
Estados Unidos tuvo un debut horrendo en los Juegos Olímpicos. La caída 0-3 ante Suecia fue tan categórica que Megan Rapinoe lo resumió mejor que nadie: "nos patearon el trasero". Hoy, sin embargo, el USWNT se recobró del mal paso con una contundente victoria de 6-1 ante la selección de Nueva Zelandia. La historia es que pudieron ser diez, pero cuatro conquistas fueron anuladas por fuera de juego.
Speaking from firsthand experience, I know how hard it can be on your body to wake up in the middle of the night to watch Olympic soccer played in Japan. I thought it was fun in 2002 for the World Cup, but my body rebelled hard after the first day of play on Wednesday.
And yet, I can’t wait to wake up early for the next Group F match, because those games have been stupidly entertaining at the 2020 Olympics.
The USWNT bounced back, as basically everyone expected it to do, taking care of New Zealand 6-1 on Saturday in Saitama, Japan. After they were crushed by Sweden in the Olympic opener, the Americans needed a response, and this was a pretty good one. It was a fairly straightforward victory, though not necessarily the sort of performance that will scare the other medal favorites in Japan.
One thing Team USA did accomplish was providing one of the few audience members a profound understanding of the intricacies of the offside rule.
The USWNT on Friday filed an opening brief in the appeal of its lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, saying the decision to dismiss it was based on flawed legal reasoning.
The brief, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, asks that the ruling be reversed and the case sent back to district court to be heard by a jury.
It’s the moment athletes wait their entire lives for: To walk into a stadium of roaring fans alongside compatriots during the Olympic Games opening ceremonies. Things were a bit different this year as Olympic Stadium in Tokyo was mostly empty, fans unable to attend because of the Covid-19 pandemic still raging around the world.
But that didn’t stop the USWNT from having fun, even from a hotel room about 20 miles away.
Football Manager (and its yearly iterations) is a soccer video game focused on the minutiae of managing a club more so than a game focused on playing the actual sport. Perhaps a few years late, the popular series finally announced it will be adding women’s players, which could have rippling effects in other soccer video games like FIFA and PES/eFootball.
Brazil opened its campaign at the Summer Olympics in resounding fashion on Wednesday after dismantling China 5-0 at Miyagi Stadium in Rifu. The Seleção’s goals were scored by Debinha, Andressa Alves, Beatriz and a brace from the legendary Marta.
By finding the net at Tokyo 2020, Marta became the first player ever to score in five straight Olympics. Overall, she now has 12 goals at Olympic Games, moving her two behind former teammate Cristiane at the top of the tournament’s all-time goalscoring list.
Megan Rapinoe was quite blunt on the USWNT’s 3-0 loss to Sweden; they got their asses kicked. The forward also added a term I don’t think I’ve ever heard from an athlete before, the team “got bopped.” What does it mean to get bopped? Let’s consult the internet.
Zambia’s women’s soccer team was supposed to be the feel-good story of the tournament. The team shocked Cameroon to get to Tokyo, came to the tournament with nothing to lose and have a striker who was a sprinter in the 2008 Olympics. The fun ended rather quickly when the World Cup runner-up Netherlands torched the Copper Queens 10-3 on Wednesday.