This isn’t just the most uncertain U.S. women’s national team we’ve seen in quite some time: It’s fallen to an all-time low of No. 5 in the world rankings, is trying to bounce back in a big tournament after a disastrous World Cup defeat last summer, and is incorporating a new generation of players under the guidance of a coach with just four games to prepare.
That means that of the 12 teams competing in the 2024 women’s Olympic soccer tournament, the United States won in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012, suffered a shock quarterfinal loss in 2016 and missed out on a bronze medal three years ago, while other teams are very good right now.
Take, for example, Zambia, the U.S. opponent in its opening group match on Thursday (3 p.m., USA Network) in Nice, southwestern France.
“I can’t stress this enough: We’re only thinking about Zambia,” new U.S. head coach Emma Hayes said this week at the team’s camp in Marseille, where she was still warming up.
“I think one of the biggest problems is that too often we talk about what would happen if we got to the semi-finals or finals. I think that’s a disservice to the rest of the world.”
“And I think football has reached a point where that’s not the case. It’s not a cakewalk to get somewhere. You have to work to get there and nothing is given to you… With the development of women’s football around the world, this tournament now has the top footballing nations in it and you have the potential to win against any opponent at any time.”
“I believe so. I don’t think there are any shocking events in women’s football anymore. I think we need to refocus a little bit and be more respectful of the rest of the world.”
Zambia won their group stage at the last World Cup and NWSL’s top scorer, Barbra Banda, is arguably the most dangerous striker in the world.
The U.S. women’s national team will then face traditional foes Germany (ranked No. 4 in the world) and Australia in Group B, with a small 18-player roster, typical of Olympic matches, and only two days between games.
“We’re a lot more compact this time around in terms of the time we have together and the time between games,” U.S. right back Emily Fox said. “Every group is very difficult and I think we saw that at the World Cup and we’re going to see that here again with our first game against Zambia.”
2024 Paris Olympics
Group A includes hosts France (ranked No. 2 in the world) and defending gold medallist Canada, which was embroiled in the Spygate scandal this week after its support staff were found to have been using a drone to film their opponents training.
Group C is extremely well-stocked, with reigning World Cup champions Spain, Japan, Nigeria and the inimitable Malta playing in their sixth Olympic Games alongside Brazil.
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But that’s just the context.
Boasting an unparalleled résumé and inspiring talent such as Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Gotham FC star Rose Lavelle, the standard for the U.S. Women’s National Team remains relatively unchanged, having defied a World Cup setback and returned home from Paris with another gold medal.
“Since Emma arrived, we’ve learned a lot, grown a lot and incorporated a lot of new things that we think will help us be successful in this tournament,” Smith said. “We’re just looking towards this tournament and we’re not going to look back because there’s no point in doing that.”
