The U.S. women's national team topped Group B with their third consecutive win at the Olympic Games on Wednesday, beating Australia 2-1 at the Stade de Marseille. The Americans will now face Japan on Saturday in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m. ET.
Australia prioritized defense after conceding eight goals in their last two games but the U.S. found a way to open them up as the game approached halftime, with Trinity Rodman scoring shortly before the break. The goal call was held up by malfunctioning equipment between the referee and the VAR team, but after several minutes the group was able to confirm that Rodman's strike from close distance was not troubled by Sam Coffey, who was in an offside position but did not interfere with the play.
A more fluid second half allowed substitute Korbin Albert to score her first international goal, capitalizing off of a giveaway from Claire Wheeler to take a strike from distance in the 77th minute.
Australia began to mount a comeback in second-half stoppage time courtesy of Alanna Kennedy, who scored from close range in the 92nd minute. She then missed a chance moments later to notch the equalizer, which would have sent them through automatically as one of the best third-place teams. Their equalizer never came, though, and so they will have to wait for other results to find out if they will advance at the Olympics.
The U.S. end the group stage with nine goals, the most they have ever scored in the group stage of the Olympic Games. Mallory Swanson leads the group with three, while Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman each have two.
The U.S. will next play Japan in the quarterfinals on Saturday in a rematch of the 2012 gold medal match (also a rematch of the 2011 and 2015 World Cup finals), which the Americans won, but they will do so without Sam Coffey, who will be suspended through yellow card accumulation. Forward Jaedyn Shaw and defender Tierna Davidson missed the match against Australia with injuries and it is currently unclear if they will be available to face Japan.
The U.S. officially have three wins out of three in the group stage and as a result, a quarterfinal meeting with Japan on Saturday in Paris. They did well to combat Australia's low block and after scoring nine goals in three games, will feel pretty good about the state of their attack as the business end of the tournament begins.
90'+7 Australia have a corner with very little time on the clock and so goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold comes up for the opportunity. Alyssa Naeher comes up with a punch in traffic, shoving the ball out of the box and then allowing the U.S. to set up an offside trap to kill the play.
90'+2 Australia have not quit yet as they eye an important draw, with Michelle Heyman knocking down the ball so Alana Kennedy can capitalize by scoring from close range. With five minutes left on the clock, there may just enough time for Australia to find their equalizer...
83' Sophia Smith takes a shot from an angle that hits one post, then hits the other post and yet somehow does not go in the back of the net. Lynn Williams was close, but not close enough to get a touch on the ball as it hovered around the goal line.
80' Mallory Swanson comes off for Croix Bethune, who makes her Olympics debut after going as an unused substitute in the first two games. She's in the midst of an impressive rookie season for the Washington Spirit and joins the USWNT's attack to close out this game.
80' Australia have their best little spell of attacking possession all game as Emily van Egmond takes a shot from an angle that poses a real threat of going in. Casey Krueger makes the clearance and then Sam Coffey stretches to keep the ball away from goal, preserving the U.S.' clean sheet.
77' The USWNT engages in a bit of build-up play around the box, though the ball falls to Australia's Claire Wheeler at one point. Instead of keeping her team out of trouble, though, she sends the ball towards Korbin Albert, who takes a shot from distance and scores her first international goal in the process.
67' Just two minutes after coming on, Korbin Albert already receives a yellow card for grabbing Caitlin Foord's shirt. The Australians get a freekick as a result but do little with it.
65' Lynn Williams, Korbin Albert and Casey Krueger come on for Trinity Rodman, Rose Lavelle and Emily Fox. Rodman's substitution seems like it comes with her yellow card from the first game in mind, though in her place comes skilled goalscorer Williams, who notched the U.S.' final goal in their 4-1 win over Germany.
60' Tony Gustavsoon goes to his bench as Australia search for goals, bringing on Michelle Heyman and Emily van Egmond for Hayley Raso and Katrina Gorry.
52' As expected, this game has opened up a bit because Australia are in need of a goal. That tactical switch has benefitted the U.S. so far, though, who have made several runs at goal now and picked up a few corners along the way. The latest sees the ball fall outside the penalty area after being cleared, which allows U.S. center back Naomi Girma to take a stab at scoring. She keeps the ball low and she shoots from distance and almost actually finds the back of the net, but the ball rolls just wide.
Both teams make a change at the half -- Jenna Nighswonger comes on for Crystal Dunn for the U.S., while Claire Wheeler comes on for Kyra Cooney-Cross.
It has not been the most thrilling of halves, though that's to be expected when a team plays in a low block like Australia has. Still, the U.S. will no doubt be happy with the fact that they picked things up shortly before the break and actually broke through Australia's compact defense to get the game's opening goal. Considering this result is not terribly beneficial to the Matildas, it's worth watching to see if this game opens up after the break (or perhaps that's just cautious optimism).
45' We're going to have 10 minutes of stoppage time in Marseille because a VAR malfunction. Shortly after Trinity Rodman's goal, the referee ran towards the monitor to check if Sam Coffey was in an offside position and interfering with the play but it appeared that there was a tech issue making it difficult for the center referee to communicate with the VAR. The center ref appeared to be speaking to his VAR counterparts via a cell phone and only then made his way to the monitor, from there taking a short amount of time to award the U.S. a goal.
The whole thing still took three minutes, and also included the referee showing Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson a yellow card.
44' The USWNT finally have their opening goal of the game, courtesy of Trinity Rodman. Rodman first earns a corner by taking a shot from an angle that forces a save out of Mackenzie Arnold, but on the corner, she connects with Sophia Smith to score from close range. It's Rodman's second goal of the tournament and notably, one of the USWNT's first goals off set pieces since beginning work with set piece specialist Gianni Vio at the start of this tournament.
41' The USWNT earn a freekick near goal and Emily Fox takes the set piece, sending the ball towards the far post, where Lindsey Horan is waiting. The captain gets her head on it but Mackenzie Arnold once again meets the moment to make the save, keeping things 0-0.
39' The game opens up just a little bit and so Trinity Rodman goes on a run on the left flank before passing the ball to a more central Mallory Swanson. Swanson might have a good look at goal but Australia waste no time getting numbers in and around the penalty area and so Swanson sends the ball over to Lindsey Horan, who ten notices that Crystal Dunn's running towards goal. There's some distance between her and goal but Dunn still goes for it and nearly catches Mackenzie Arnold off-guard, but the goalkeeper steps up to the task.
31' Sophia Smith has the ball inside the box and smartly notices Mallory Swanson in a strong position ahead of her and sends the ball in that direction. Swanson's close but is unable to beat goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold to the ball, with later results in the ball going out for a corner. Australia survive the set piece opportunity with relative ease.
24' There have not been a ton of quality chances in this game so far and that's in large part down to Australia's choice to play as a 5-3-2 while defending, making it fairly difficult for the USWNT to break them down. It's probably a necessary shift for the Matildas, who have already conceded eight goals in two games, and for the USWNT, it may remind them of their send-off game against Costa Rica. That game ended 0-0 but the U.S. did take 26 shots, so this formation from Australia will mark a big test for the attacking trio of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman.
For what it's worth -- a draw would be enough for Australia to progress as a third place team.
10' Trinity Rodman makes a run at goal and takes a shot from inside the box, which Mackenzie Arnold makes a save on. The ball goes back into play and so Sophia Smith takes a crack at it but sends the ball over the net.
7' In the first meaningful attacking play of the day, Mallory Swanson takes a shot from an angle that goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold mismanages. Australia's defense are able to survive the opportunity but a couple of U.S. players were nearby and within scoring range.
4' Sam Coffey picks up a yellow for a foul on Katrina Gorry, her second of the competition so she's now suspended for the USWNT's quarterfinal match.
The USWNT have the ball in the center circle and get things underway in their group stage finale.
Emma Hayes was welcomed with much fanfare to the USWNT fold, but the head coach has inspired new layers of optimism after the team's 4-1 win over Germany, easily the toughest test of her short tenure so far. She walked out of that game scoring an eight out of 10 in Sandra Herrera's player ratings, demonstrating confidence in her own tactical choices along the way.
The Attacking Third looked back at the USWNT's performance against Germany, which offers them plenty of momentum and positivity before they take on Australia. That's especially true in attack with Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman in fine form -- and in pole position to take advantage of an Australia team that has conceded eight goals in two games. Here's a preview of today's game.
Head coach Tony Gustavsson -- an assistant on the USWNt's 2019 World Cup winning team -- makes one change to his lineup after their 6-5 win over Zambia, giving Kaitlyn Torpey a nod in midfield over Emily van Egmond. Here's a look at Australia's team for today.
Australia starting XI: Arnold, Carpenter, Kennedy, Hunt, Catley, Gorry, Torpey, Raso, Cooney-Cross, Foord, Fowler
Substitutes: Micha, Polkinghorne, Wheeler, van Egmond, Yallop, Vine, Heyman
Emma Hayes will be without two rostered players today through intjury -- Jaedyn Shaw and Tierna Davidson. Shaw has been unable to participate in the group stage with a leg injury, while Davidson came off shortly before halftime against Germany with a knee contusion. It's unclear when either player will return to the pitch.
In their places come Croix Bethune and Emily Sams, two first-time Olympians. Bethune has been Shaw's replacement throughout the group stage but has yet to make her first appearance in the tournament, while Sams makes the 18-person squad for the first time since being named as an alternate upon Catarina Macario's exit from the roster with an injury. Sams only received her first call-up to the senior national team this month, but has been a solid player for the Orlando Pride as a defender during their impressive season so far.
Head coach Emma Hayes is rolling with the same team that started the first two games, minus one change out of necessity -- Emily Sonnett comes in for the injured Tierna Davidson. It's a fascinating choice from Hayes to stick to her core group, but perhaps one driven by the fact that she has had such little time to work with everyone after only coaching her first game in June. Here's a look at the lineup.
USWNT starting XI: Naeher, Fox, Girma, Sonnett, Dunn, Coffey, Horan, Lavelle, Smith, Swanson, Rodman
Substitutes: Murphy, Albert, Krueger, Williams, Nighswonger, Bethune, Sams
The USWNT are back in action today and have eyes on top spot in Group B after a fairly impressive start to the group stage at the Olympics. Goalscoring has been the theme of their spell in the south of France so far after scoring seven in two games, which will be a relief to fans who watched their 230-plus minute goalless run at the World Cup last year with worry.
As a result, the U.S. have already booked their spot in the knockouts but need just a draw today to top Group B. It might be cause for Emma Hayes to rotate through her team at some point today after going with identical lineups for the first two games, especially as the games come thick and fast at the Olympics.
Stick around for live updates before the game and coverage post-kcikoff.
