The U.S. women's national team punched a spot in the knockout rounds of the Olympic Games on Sunday, beating Germany 4-1 at Stade de Marseille in the first statement win of Emma Hayes' tenure as the head coach.
Hayes named an unchanged lineup from the 3-0 win over Zambia on Thursday and reaped the rewards of it, with Sophia Smith scoring her first-ever Olympic goal in the 10th minute after combining well with fellow forwards Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson. Germany's Giulia Gwinn found the equalizer in the 22nd minute but Swanson restored the U.S. lead four minutes later with a shot from close range.
The U.S. took a 3-1 lead just moments before the halftime break when Smith scored a slightly unusual goal. The U.S. earned a free kick and Smith ended up with the ball, sending what appeared to be across to the far post where Lindsey Horan was waiting. Instead, though, the ball hit the post and deflected into the back of the net.
The two sides played a more patient second half that offered little in terms of quality chances, though Germany looked intent on mounting a comeback on several occasions. In the end, it was the U.S. who scored again courtesy of substitute Lynn Williams, who scored just minutes after coming on after combining with Swanson.
The U.S. sit atop Group B with six points and can win the group with just a draw vs. Australia on Wednesday.
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The U.S. pass the biggest test of the Emma Hayes era in a big way, putting four goals past Germany in a standout day for the team's attacking talent. Credit must also go to the U.S.' defense, which absorbed Germany's pressure well in the second half to not even offer them a fighting chance of mounting a comeback despite their spells of possession.
89' Just minutes after coming on, Lynn Williams have her first goal of the tournament. Mallory Swanson makes a run towards the box and plays a perfect pass to Williams, who takes a shot from an angle but has plenty of space to send the ball rolling into the back of the net.
86' Emma Hayes makes her first sub since taking Tierna Davidson off in the first half, bringing on Lynn Williams for Sophia Smith.
84' Trinity Rodman makes a nice run into the box and takes the U.S.' best shot of the second half, forcing Ann-Katrin Berger into an impressive save.
83' Mallory Swanson makes a great run down the left flank and plays it to Rose Lavelle, but despite the promise of the situation, the Germany defense does enough to force her to pass the ball back to Emily Fox. The U.S. attempt some build up play but are not really able to put something together, which has been the story of the second half for both teams.
78' Germany's captain Alexandra Popp comes off with about 10 minutes plus stoppage time to go, perhaps with an injury. Elisa Senss comes on in her place.
74' Germany may still have most of the ball but the U.S. is starting to carve out some small spells of possession, though like their opposition are struggling to create quality chances. Mallory Swanson and Rose Lavelle have been in and around the box but the attacking players seem a little bit disjointed right now -- Trinity Rodman, for example, looks a little bit isolated right now despite finding herself in some good spaces.
68' Momentum has shifted Germany's way in the last several minutes, with Giulia Gwinn serving as a standout. She makes a run towards goal and takes a shot from a little bit of distance, which Alyssa Naeher is able to catch fairly easily. Again, shots are few and far between in this second half but Germany is building some rhythm here. We'll see if anyone can turn this into meaningful chances.
58' Jule Brand is on the right side of the box and sees a sliver of space in between Alyssa Naeher and the post, so she goes for goal. Naeher begins to dip as the ball rolls in her direction and is just able to make the stop, keeping Germany at bay with their best shot of the second half.
56' Things have gotten off to a patient start in the second half as both teams find periods of possession in the center of the park but have not added much in terms of quality shots. The USWNT have showed a little more attacking intention than Germany, but Germany just created a promising moment after Giulia Gwinn combined with Jule Brand. That opportunity is weeded out on the edge of the penalty area, though.
Per the broadcast, Tierna Davidson's status is "moderately encouraging" after coming off shortly before halftime with an injury. They describe it as a "lower leg injury," but not one relating to her knee. That news likely comes as a relief to many, since Davidson tore her ACL in 2022 and battled her way back to the field in the buildup to the 2023 Women's World Cup.
The teams are back on the pitch and the second half is underway. Neither side made a change at the break, though the U.S. have already used one substitution to replace Tierna Davidson with Emily Sonnett.
This top-tier match is living up to the billing so far with four goals, and the U.S. will be happy that three of them are in their favor. The USWNT's front three are starting to click in a big way in France, which is allowing them to survive the fact that Germany are getting through their midfield a bit more often than they might like.
45' Germany are on the hunt for a second goal and Nusken gets close to scoring after getting a head on a cross, but her touch isn't clean and so the U.S. survive that moment despite Nusken's proximity to goal.
45' The USWNT are now up 3-1, courtesy of Sophia Smith. The U.S. earn a freekcik and the ball eventually lands to Smith, who whips in a ball that looks like a cross for Lindsey Horan at the far post. Horan can't get a touch on it, but it doesn't matter -- the ball hits the post and then deflects into the back of the net. The U.S. may have been lucky with that one, but they'll take it.
44' Tierna Davidson picks up an injury after a tackle and though the medical team is on the field treating her for a few minutes, she's unable to continue. Emily Sonnett comes in for her and slots in at center back next to Naomi Girma.
32' Gwinn with another look on goal. This time Naeher sticks with it and the angle is just over the crossbar.
26' The USWNT recycles the ball through the final third and Smith gets a good look on goal that forces a save by the keeper who doesn't keep hold of the ball. Swanson making a following run is there to tap it through! USA lead 2-1.
22' The German's equalize off a throw-in, Alexandra Popp receives a ball and takes heavy contact to get the pass to Giulia Gwinn, and it's all level here in the first half. USWNT midfielder Sam Coffey has picked up a yellow in the process for the foul on Popp.
17' Since the opening goal, the USWNT has been on the front foot, finding the open outlet and getting into dangerous spaces. Smith's positioning and time on the ball is giving the German's trouble in transition.
10' An absolute top-line special to open up the goal-scoring for USA. Rodman delivers a ball in and Swanson is there to flick toward Smith making an alternate run for the finish.
4' Germany with a speedy counter and Naeher is forced to come up with a crucial kick save to start the game. We might get a few of those today against a clinical Germany side.
I hope you've emotionally recovered from Australia's 6-5 win over Zambia, because one last batch of soccer is underway in Marseille as the U.S. take on Germany. France and Canada, meanwhile, are also underway in Saint-Etienne.
Even if the USWNT's offense was the main focus of Thursday's win over Zambia, it's worth taking a moment to talk about the team's defensive outing in Nice. Emma Hayes is rolling with Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson at center back, who feel like the U.S.' defensive pairing for years to come, and the pair impressed after defending talented Zambia attackers Barbra Banda and Rachel Kundananji the other night. Here's Sandra Herrera's assessment of Girma and Davidson's performances on Thursday, when both scored an 8 in her player ratings.
Germany are riding a high coming into today's game, pulling off an impressively dominant 3-0 win over Australia. They were able to begin their Olympics on a high despite losing Lena Oberdorf just weeks before the competition began with an MCL injury, only adding to their status as one of the best teams at the competition. Here, the Attacking Third team breaks down Germany's big win on Thursday.
Germany go with another full-strength lineup for today's all-important match against the USWNT, including captain and legend Alexandra Popp. Here's a look at their team for today.
Germany starting XI: Berger, Gwinn, Hendrich, Hegering, Rauch, Brand, Minge, Popp, Buhl, Nusken, Schuller
Substitutes: Frohms, Schulze-Solano, Doorsoun, Senss, Freigang, Lohmann, Endemann
Emma Hayes names an unchanged lineup from the USWNT's 3-0 win over Zambia, including Sophia Smith after coming off with an injury concern in the first half of Thursday's game. As announced, Croix Bethune replaces Jaedyn Shaw in the squad and will be on the bench.
USWNT starting XI: Naeher, Fox, Girma, Davidson, Dunn, Coffey, Horan, Lavelle, Smith, Swanson, Rodman
Substitutes: Murphy, Albert, Krueger, Williams, Nighswonger, Sonnett, Bethune
The USWNT's three-goal showing against Zambia was a long time coming, especially after scoring just one goal in their final two friendlies before the Olympics began. It was a particularly successful outing for Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson, each of whom broke different scoring droughts on Thursday -- Rdoman notched her first international goal since December, while Swanson scored her first-ever goals at the Olympics. Each of those goals came in the first 25 minutes, which perhaps allowed them to take their collective foot off the gas but the overall performance left a positive impression for many.
Here are Darian Jenkins' reflections on the USWNT's attacking performance, which might inspire confidence ahead of their game against Germany later today.
Sophia Smith came off in the first half of the USWNT's win over Zambia with an injury concern, but head coach Emma Hayes confirmed yesterday that the forward will be available against Germany. Jaedyn Shaw, though, will not be in the squad -- she will miss a second game in a row with a leg issue, allowing alternate Croix Bethune to crack the 18-person game day roster for the second time in a row. Rose Lavelle is also expected to play a part today after coming off at halftime against Zambia to manage her minutes.
The USWNT take on Germany in the headlining act of today's soccer action at the Olympic Games, a game in which plenty is at stake for both teams. Both are on a redemption tour after disappointing at the Women's World Cup last year and have eyes on top spot in Group B, which they currently share. This game will also mark the first major test of Emma Hayes' spell as the USWNT coach just six games into her tenure. Stick around for pre-game coverage and team news, as well as updates post-kickoff.
