At the moment marks the beginning of the ladies’s soccer competitors, with all 12 competing groups in motion throughout the day. That features the U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Group which faces Zambia of their opening group stage match in Good at 3 p.m. ET.
The Olympics marks the beginning of a brand new period for the USWNT after an underwhelming efficiency eventually yr’s World Cup through which the group suffered a Spherical of 16 exit to Sweden after penalties— its earliest ever elimination from the event.
The early exit within the World Cup noticed former head coach Vlatko Andonovski resign and he has now been changed by Emma Hayes, who turned Chelsea into a significant power in ladies’s soccer. Hayes has received 14 main trophies in her 12 years in cost in west London.
Gone too are USWNT stalwarts Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz — each retired after the World Cup. Alex Morgan, in the meantime, is now 35 years outdated and was not chosen for the Video games by Hayes.
Hayes’ squad for the Video games is far youthful and fewer skilled than the U.S. has had beforehand — solely 10 of the 18-player roster have been within the squad for the World Cup final yr. However the group will nonetheless be thought of among the many medal contenders.
Hayes insists the group is not going to be burdened by the reminiscence of its early exit from the World Cup. “I believe this group is firmly targeted on … creating a brand new historical past collectively,” Hayes stated in a press convention. “Our motivation isn’t at all times about righting the wrongs. Removed from it. We’re excited. We’re ready.”
In contrast to the boys’s event, the ladies’s soccer competitors on the Olympics is just not age-restricted, that means the groups competing on the Video games are at full power.
Defending gold medalists Canada have been mired in controversy this week after being accused of utilizing a drone to spy on the coaching session of their first opponents New Zealand. Spain can be anticipated to be within the combine for gold, having received the World Cup final yr.
Skilled captain Lindsey Horan will probably be essential to the USWNT’s possibilities, whereas defender Naomi Girma had a breakthrough yr in 2023 being named USWNT participant of the yr. Sophia Smith is one other to look out for: the Portland Thorns ahead was nominated final week for CONCACAF participant of the yr.