The 2024 Olympic Women’s Soccer Tournament is comprised of 12 teams separated into three groups of four. The top two teams from each group along with the two best third-place finishers will advance to the knockout rounds. The USA has made it out of the group all seven of its previous trips to the Olympics, medaling in six out of seven Olympic appearances.
The second group stage matchday features Australia-Zambia in Nice at 1 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. local followed by USA-Germany in Marseille. The Group B finale on July 31 features Germany vs. Zambia in Saint-Étienne kicking off simultaneously with USA-Australia in Marseille (1 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. local).
In Group A, hosts France and Canada opened their Olympic campaigns with wins while Spain and Brazil were victorious in their opening matches in Group C.
INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. GERMANY
The July 28 showdown in Marseille will be the 36th meeting all-time between the U.S. and Germany but their first-ever meeting in the group stage of a World Cup or Olympics and just the second meeting ever between the teams at the Olympic Games. The previous Olympic matchup came in the semifinals of Athens 2004, which the U.S. won 2-1 in extra time, getting a game-winning goal from 19-year-old Heather O’Reilly in the 99th minute.
The U.S. leads the overall series with Germany 23W-5L-7D, including a 4W-1L-0D advantage in meetings at the World Cup and Olympics. Germany’s only win over the U.S. at a world championship came in the semifinals of the 2003 Women’s World Cup, a 3-0 victory in Portland, Ore. on Germany’s path to its first Women’s World Cup title. The most recent meeting between the USA and Germany at a world championship came in the semifinals of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which the USA won 2-0 on the way to its third World Cup title. In each of the previous five meetings between the USA and Germany, the team that won the match went on to win the entire tournament.
The USA and Germany played most recently in two friendlies at the end of 2022, splitting the matches in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and Harrison, N.J. Germany won the first of the two meetings 2-1 on Nov. 10, 2022, powered by a U.S. own goal and a late game-winner in transition in the 89th minute after the Americans equalized in the 85th on a goal from Megan Rapinoe. The teams then travelled to Red Bull Arena, where the U.S. closed out the 2022 campaign on with a stirring 2-1 come-from-behind victory on Nov. 13. Trailing 1-0 at the half after midfielder Jule Brand put the Germans in front in the 18th minute, the U.S. responded with two goals in the span of three minutes early in the second half. Sophia Smith equalized for the Americans in the 54th minute with a powerful shot from 12 yards out and Mallory Swanson – playing her final match for the USWNT under her maiden name Pugh – broke in behind the German defense and netted the game-winner with a low finish in the 56th minute.
AMERICANS IN MARSEILLE
Following its win over Zambia in Marseille, the USWNT now has all-time record of 14W-2L-0D when playing in France. Seven of those wins came during the USWNT’s run to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup while the two losses came in 2015 and 2019 in friendly matches against Les Bleues.
This will be the USA’s first-ever match in Marseille, the oldest and second-largest city in France. Stade de Marseille, also known as Stade Vélodrome, is France’s second-largest stadium with a capacity of 66,300 for the Olympics. Home to Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille, the venue was first opened in 1937 and hosted the 1938 and 1998 FIFA Men’s World Cups as well as the 1984 and 2016 UEFA European Championships and the Rugby World Cup in both 2007 and 2023.
EMMA ERA STARTING STRONG
The longtime head coach at Chelsea FC before officially taking over the helm of the USWNT in late May and is unbeaten (4W-0L-1D) in her first five matches with the USWNT, all over them coming via shutout. It is the second-longest streak to open the tenure of any full-time USWNT head coach, trailing only a streak of nine consecutive shutouts to open the Greg Ryan era.
Hayes is the eighth head coach to lead the USWNT into a major tournament and just the fourth to record a win in her first world championship match and the first to win his or her first major tournament match by three or more goals. The other head coaches to win their first major tournament match with the USWNT are Jill Ellis (2015 World Cup), April Heinrichs (2000 Olympics) and Anson Dorrance (1991 World Cup).
Three of the previous seven head coaches in USWNT history won their first major competition, with Dorrance leading the U.S. to the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Pia Sundhage leading the Americans to a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and Ellis helping the U.S. to its third World Cup title in 2015.
2024 MEDIA GUIDE
The 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Media Guide and the 2024 USWNT Media Guide are now available for download. The Media Guides features all the history and statistics for the USWNT, as well as full bios on technical staff and the current top players, information on the USA’s Youth Women’s National Teams and general important information on U.S. Soccer.
USA TEAM & OLYMPIC ROSTER NOTESFour of the players on this roster have 100+ caps, led by Lindsey Horan with 151. Crystal Dunn has 150 international appearances followed by Alyssa Naeher (107 caps) and Rose Lavelle (102).Jenna Nighswonger is the least capped player on this roster with 11 international appearances.Fourteen of the 22 players on this roster were born after the 1996 Olympics, the first ever Olympics to feature women’s soccer.Forward Mallory Swanson is the top scorer on this roster with 36 international goals, followed by Horan with 35, Dunn with 25 and Lavelle with 24. Swanson’s two goals at Paris 2024 are tied with France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto for the most by any player so far this tournament while Horan is tied with Germany’s Giulia Gwinn for the tournament lead with two assists.Horan leads the U.S. with 1,002 total minutes played in 2024 – the first player to eclipse the 1,000-minute mark this year – followed by Alyssa Naeher (930),Sam Coffey (923) and Tierna Davidson (900).Twelve different players have scored so far for the USWNT in 2024 – led by fivegoals each from Jaedyn Shaw and Sophia Smith, fourfrom Horan and Swanson,two goals each fromAlex Morgan, Olivia Moultrie, Tierna Davidson and Jenna Nighswonger and one each fromRodman, Dunn, Lynn Williams and Lily Yohannes. Rodman, Smith, Horan and Rose Lavelle lead the U.S. with three assists apiece this year, follow by Swansonand Midge Purce with two each.Nine other players have one assist on the year. Overall, 19 different players have been directly involved in a goal for the USA in 2024, led by eightgoal involvements from Smith (5 goals, 3 assists) and seven from Horan (4 goals, 3 assists).
Current FIFA World Ranking: 4
UEFA Ranking: 4
Olympic Appearances: 6th (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2016, 2024)
Best Olympic Finish: 2016 (Gold Medal)
Record vs. USA: (5W-23L-7D)
Coach: Horst Hrubesch (GER)
GERMANY WOMEN’S OLYMPIC SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Merle Frohms (VfL Wolfsburg, GER), 12-Ann-Katrin Berger (NJ/NY Gotham FC, USA)
DEFENDERS (6): 2-Sarai Linder (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), 3-Kathrin Hendrich (VfL Wolfsburg), 4-Bibiane Schulze Solano (Athletic Club Femenino, ESP), 5-Marina Hegering (VfL Wolfsburg), 13-Sara Doorsoun (Eintracht Frankfurt), 15-Giulia Gwinn (FC Bayern München)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 6-Janina Minge (SC Freiburg), 8-Sydney Lohmann (FC Bayern München), 9-Sjoeke Nusken (Chelsea FCW, ENG), 14-Elisa Senss (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), 16-Jule Brand (VfL Wolfsburg), 17-Klara Buhl (FC Bayern München), 18-Vivien Endemann (VfL Wolfsburg)
FORWARDS (3): 7-Lea Schuller (FC Bayern München), 10-Laura Freigang (Eintracht Frankfurt), 11-Alexandra Popp (VfL Wolfsburg)
ALTERNATES (4): 19-Felicitas Rauch (North Carolina Courage, USA), 20-Pia-Sophie Wolter (Eintracht Frankfurt), 21-Nicole Anyomi (Eintracht Frankfurt), 22-Stina Johannes (Eintracht Frankfurt)
GERMANY TEAM NOTESRanked fourth in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, Germany is the highest-ranked opponent the USA has faced since playing then third-ranked Sweden in the Round of 16 at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.The meeting between No. 4 Germany and No. 5 USA marks the first time since the 2015 Women’s World Cup semifinal that the USWNT enters a match ranked lower than its opponent. In that 2015 meeting in Montreal, the 2nd-ranked Americans beat the top-ranked Germans 2-0 to advance to the World Cup final behind goals from Carli Lloyd and Kelley O’Hara.The USA and Germany have won 11 out of the 16 world championships that have been contested in women’s soccer history. The USA has won four Women’s World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals while Germany has two Women’s World Cup titles and one Olympic gold medal.After missing out on the 2020 Olympics by virtue of its quarterfinal exit at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Germany qualified for the 2024 Summer Games by beating the Netherlands 2-0 in the UEFA Women’s Nations League Third-Place Match on February 28.Germany, which has competed in every Women’s Olympic Soccer Tournament apart from 2012 and 2020, is one of only three nations to have won both a FIFA Women’s World Cup and Olympic gold medal, joining the USA and Norway in that elite group.After winning bronze in 2000, 2004 and 2008, Germany captured gold at Rio 2016, defeating Sweden 2-1 in the gold medal match. Veteran forward Alexandra Popp is the only member of the 2016 gold medalists who returns to the roster for Paris 2024.Germany, which won back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007, has not won a major championship since capturing gold in Rio. Germany lost to Sweden in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup, finished runners-up to England at the 2022 UEFA Women’s Championship and is coming off a disappointing showing at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, failing to make it out of the group for the first time in program history after losing to Colombia and drawing Korea Republic in Group H play.Like the USA, Germany was forced to make a change to its Olympic roster before the tournament even began. Standout midfielder Lena Oberdorf, who was named the EURO 2022 Young Player of the Tournament, suffered an ACL and MCL injury in Germany’s UEFA 2025 Qualifying match against Austria on July 16 and was replaced on the 18-player roster by midfielder Janina Minge. Eintracht Frankfurt’s Pia-Sophie Wolter was subsequently added to Germany’s alternate list.Of the 22 players representing Germany at this Olympics, all but four play their clubs soccer in Germany in the Frauen-Bundesliga. Four players – Lea Schuller, Klara Buhl, Giulia Gwinn and Sydney Lohmann – compete for reigning league champions Bayern Munich, while six play for runners up VfL Wolfsburg and five for Eintracht Frankfurt.Two of the four players competing outside of Germany play in the NWSL in goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who is in the midst of a stellar season with NJ/NY Gotham FC after joining the club this spring from Chelsea, and alternate Felicitas Rauch, who has made 16 appearances for the North Carolina Courage.Germany made an impressive run to the title game of the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro, but fell in overtime to host England, 2-1, in front of a record crowd at Wembley Stadium. Midfielder Lina Magull scored Germany’s lone goal in the final, which was played without star forward Alexandra Popp, who was injured during warmups and could not add to her six tournament goals, which tied for most in the competition.
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Publish date : 2024-07-27 21:33:16
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