USWNT enter Olympic knockout round looking nothing like world's best team
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
If the goal for the United States women’s national team was merely to advance from the group stage at the Tokyo Olympics, then mission accomplished.
The USWNT booked their spot in the knockout round with Tuesday’s yawner of a scoreless draw against Australia.
However, if the Americans’ goal was to re-establish themselves as the prohibitive gold medal favorite following a Games-opening 3-0 loss to Sweden last week that sent alarms bells ringing, they fell well short of the mark against the Matildas.
Once again, the USWNT were outplayed. Once again, just like in their 3-0 loss to the Swedes, they looked disjointed and worse, lethargic. The Aussies enjoyed more than 60% of the ball, For most of the second half, the best team in women’s soccer history seemed quite content to let them keep it.
Sure, Vlatko Andonovski’s side knew a stalemate would be enough to finish runner-up in Group G on goal difference. There was no reason to push numbers forward and risk giving up anything on the opposite end of the field.
Still, Tuesday’s match was difficult to watch. As the Australian defenders pinged the ball back-and-forth to each other under no pressure with less than 10 minutes to play, NBC color commentator Julie Foudy, the former U.S. captain and two-time Olympic gold medalist, channeled the frustrations of groggy fans watching in the wee hours back home.
"I get it. It’s smart tournament play," Foudy said. "But you want to have some confidence and momentum going into the knockout stage. You want to go in flying."
Flying the Americans are not.
It remains entirely possible that the World Cup holders and FIFA’s longtime No. 1 team will end up standing atop the podium inside a mostly empty National Stadium following the title match on Aug. 6, becoming the first nation to pull off the World Cup-Olympic double in the process.
The U.S. team is more than capable of winning three do-or-die games against anyone.
Does it feel likely, though? Not really. Not based on the evidence the national team has provided through its first three games in Japan. Never before in a total of 13 Olympics and World Cups has the mighty U.S. failed to take at least six points from the first round.
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And it won’t get easier from here. Up next for the U.S. is Brazil or the Netherlands, two of the most impressive teams at these Games so far. Either is capable of beating the Americans. The Dutch, which lost 2-0 to the USA in the 2019 World Cup final in France, would love to get their revenge at women’s soccer’s second most prestigious event.
Meanwhile, Brazil are led by former USWNT coach Pia Sundhage, who has the two-time silver medalist looking like a bona fide title threat. In four meetings against the U.S., with her native Sweden from 2012-17, Sundhage never lost.
If the Americans do manage to advance, add dangerous Canada, Great Britain and host nation Japan as potential semifinal foes.
Whatever country or countries they go on to meet at Tokyo 2020, the U.S. must be better. Way better. There were no ideas against the Aussies, nobody willing or able to impose themselves enough to make a difference.
Alex Morgan had a few half-chances, and a goal (correctly) called back for offside, but she and fellow attackers Megan Rapinoe and Christen Press weren’t at all sharp. Neither were midfielders Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle behind them.
The four on-target shots the Americans had were speculative efforts from distance rather than genuine scoring opportunities. There was no energy, even with 1,000 fans — local school kids from Kashima, the small coastal city about 60 miles east of Japan’s sprawling capital where the match was held — in attendance for the first time.
The image of Morgan shaking her head on the bench after being replaced by fellow veteran Carli Lloyd with 20 minutes to go seemed to sum up the Americans’ day.
Everything is still to play for, of course. The mandate for Andonovski’s team is still to take home the gold, and if the Americans accomplish it, nobody will remember the shaky start, the setbacks on the way to glory. If they do, the story will be all about surviving and overcoming adversity.
But will this U.S. squad, as constructed and as they are currently performing, actually pull it off by turning it on when it matters most?
Following a dismal first round for the USWNT, the hard truth is that the answer to that question looks anything but certain.
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.