Brazil have been trying to win a Gold at the Olympics but failed to do so in the previous two editions.
Advertisement
According to the USSF, male players make more on average because their games bring in more money, they have higher attendance levels and more valuable TV rights.
In addition to key figures lost to retirement, veteran defenders Heather O’Reilly and Christine Rampone were omitted from the squad, and striker Sydney Leroux will miss the Olympics due to her pregnancy.
Among the Olympic newcomers are a few players who also made it to the World Cup previous year, including Meghan Klingenberg, Ali Krieger, Morgan Brian and Whitney Engen.
Nayler still managed to prevent a goal, but her rebound fell right into the path of an onrushing Alex Morgan.
Lloyd, the 2015 FIFA Player of the Year of the year and the standout star of the World Cup with a stunning hat-trick in the final, has produced some of her finest moments during Olympic competition.
Now she’s in the process of establishing herself as the greatest soccer player of all-time. Will the World Cup-winning Team USA achieve their fifth gold medal?
You can find a bracket with updating results at the Olympics website. Their stars are aging, but Marta (30) and Cristiane (31) are still unsafe and both are coming off solid seasons with their respective European clubs. With a home crowd behind this talented – if not always consistent – team, anything is possible. They had to get there the hard way – through a second-chance qualifier in January at Lincoln, Nebraska, after losing twice at last year’s World Cup in Japan. Hannah Wilkinson, the scorer of one of the NZWNT’s two World Cup goals, is also an attacking threat for the Ferns, and the USA defense could have its hands full with her. That being said, needing a win against France to regain top position in the group is not a spot the US will want to be in. Canada’s most recent performance saw them go toe-to-toe with France (and at times look the better team) in a 1-0 defeat on French soil.
“It was a close game and it doesn’t matter if the goal was not so handsome, it is a goal”. It was reported on Tuesday that she had just had her first full training session with the USWNT since tearing her ACL back in December and suffering a calf injury last month. The team failed to qualify for the Olympics until 2008 but was eliminated in the group stage. That said, former USA coach Pia Sundhage knows how to navigate the Olympic tournament, having won the last two gold medals with the USWNT.
Germany leads Group F with Canada, Australia and Zimbabwe. She stepped down as coach of the Americans shortly after the Beijing Games to devote more time to her family, but took China’s top post in 2013.
“Getting recognized and doing shoots and signing on partnerships and signing on deals, that’s all great and I’m so appreciative of that, but it’s more the reward that’s the most satisfying”, she added.
Stanford grad Kelley O’Hara, playing in the back, helped the Americans keep New Zealand out of the goal. From there, little will be expected.
Advertisement
Mallory Pugh had a rough first game: The teenage sensation wowed everybody in Olympic Qualifying with her speed, her creativeness and toughness. Her ability to the turn one-touch change of directions into accurate serves made the United States a danger to score every time she touched the ball.
