USA vs Australia preview: Fate is in the hands of USWNT

The US Women’s National Team (USWNT) is looking to finish the Group Stage in first place. After winning their first two games, head coach Emma Hayes’ team has already secured a spot in the quarterfinals. But their opponent, venue, and kickoff time are all still to be determined. That’s why staying top of the group with a win against Australia is vital on Wednesday, July 31. We explain more in this, our USA vs Australia preview.

Germany recap

The US currently tops the group after a resounding 4-1 win over Germany on Sunday. It was the kind of performance that had so many fans excited about the hire of Emma Hayes. The US scored early and they scored often.

Sophia Smith got the party started in the 11th minute before Germany responded just eleven minutes later. The US was undeterred, however, and promptly retook the lead two minutes later through Mallory Swanson, who is currently the joint top scorer at these Olympic Games with three goals.

Smith added her second of the game just before halftime, which took a crazy deflection before going off the post and in. Then, with less than a minute remaining in the game, Lynn Williams capped off the night with a cool finish from just outside the six-yard box.

Potential quarterfinal opponents

As things stand now, the US is top of the group. A win or a draw against Australia sees the USWNT secure the top spot and advance to the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris (where the US men will play Morocco on Friday). Should they top the group, they could face one of four opponents from Group C: Spain, Japan, Brazil, or Nigeria.

But should the US somehow not finish as the best team in their group, things could get weird. Because the women’s event at the Olympics only has a total of twelve teams competing in three groups, the last few places in the knockout rounds are filled by the top two third-place teams from the group stage.

Should the US finish second in the group, they would face the runner-up from Group A, which could be Colombia, France, Canada, or New Zealand. And if the worst were to happen, and the US dropped to third place in the group, they could potentially play anybody in the tournament (except the already-eliminated Zambia).

Australia

Australia is currently third in the group. Though tied with Germany on 3 points, they have a worse goal difference at -2. They’ve had an interesting tournament so far at these Olympics.

They lost their opening game quite handily to Germany, 3-0. Their second game, against Zambia, was one of the most incredible games of soccer, perhaps ever.

Zambia opened the scoring in the first minute. Australia answered in the seventh minute. Zambia took the lead again in the 21st minute and then added some insurance in the 33rd minute. The Matildas pulled one back almost immediately in the 35th minute. It looked like Zambia had put it away for good in the 56th minute at 5-2. That’s when things got wild.

Australia got one back in the 58th minute through a Zambian own goal. Stephanie Catley scored in the 65th minute to bring the Matildas within one and then fired home a penalty thirteen minutes later to level the score. And in the dying moments of the game, it was Michelle Heyman who curled her shot with aplomb and sent Australia to a famous victory.

Notes

Wednesday’s game for the US women against Australia is set for a 1 PM ET kickoff. Viewers can watch the game in English on the E! Network, Peacock, and in Spanish on NBC Universo.

Photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire