Carli Lloyd, who recently returned from a major knee injury, opened the scoring in the ninth minute when she headed a Tobin Heath pass into the left corner of the net. From an American perspective, most people will be watching one game in particular in these first two days: The US Women’s National Team against New Zealand. It’s worth noting that the US back line has been here before, too, and posted another clean sheet.
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“When I first got on the team (in the early 2000s), it was basically just long balls the whole time”, Lloyd said.
Of course we had some big losses, some players that have been around the game for quite some time, and they are irreplaceable, really, veteran goalkeeper Hope Solo said.
The chants were repeated after the final whistle. “It’s going to be fantastic to play for such insane, passionate fans”, Kerri Walsh Jennings said.
The win puts Brazil tied atop group E with Sweden.
The U.S. was unable to build on its lead in the first half, but remained the stronger side.
While the opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympic Games is scheduled to take place Friday night, the competition officially kicks off Wednesday as former LSU Soccer standout Allysha Chapman and the Canadian Women’s National Team faces Australia in their first group match with kickoff set for 1 p.m. CT.
New Zealand, playing in its third consecutive Olympics, barely threatened the U.S.at the Mineirao, which holds more than 60,000 spectators. The goal was the 89th of Lloyd’s worldwide career and the fifth assist for Heath in 2016. It’s a great opportunity for many hungry players like Crystal Dunn, 24, to shine.
Midfielder Betsy Hassett, with 92 caps to her name, is one of the holdovers from that tournament and the 25-year-old has just signed for Dutch club Ajax. It was her 12 goal of the year and 68th worldwide goal.
Unlike the men’s tournament, which requires teams to field under-23 squads, women’s Olympic soccer brings together the best players in the world.
Brazil put on a commanding performance in front of their home crowd at the Olympic stadium. Les Bleues dominated the Colombians during their Wednesday showdown by tallying three goals before the half. France rolled over Colombia, 4-0, in a game it could have won by a larger score.
Defender Nilla Fischer scored the only goal of the game to give the Swedes a winning start to their Olympic campaign.
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Canada 2, Australia 0: History was made in Sao Paulo when Canada’s Janine Beckie took only 20 seconds to make a mark on her third Summer Games by scoring the fastest goal ever at the Olympics.
