Feel like you don’t know enough about the Matildas’ opponents in Paris? Beyond90 has got you covered! We’ve covered the highs and the lows of the three teams’ squads, as well as picking our players to watch throughout the tournament.
Germany
Olympic Appearances: Five (1996-2008, 2016)
Best Finish: Gold Medal (2016)
Big Outs & Bolters
Out: Lena Oberdorf & Sara Däbritz
With so many players being turned over after the Germans’ disastrous group stage exit at the 2023 FIFA Womens World Cup, it’s no wonder that several giants of the German women’s game would be left out of the Paris 2024 squad, but few would have predicted the omission of long-time defensive midfielder Sara Däbritz. A talented, well-rounded midfielder, Däbritz had cemented herself in the German set-up before an unfortunate ankle injury sidelined her ahead of the tournament, forcing interim coach Horst Hrubesch to seek a replacement for the battle-hardened midfielder.
Similarly to Däbritz, newly-signed Bayern Munich midfielder Lena Oberdorf will miss the Paris 2024 tournament after suffering a traumatic knee injury, rupturing her medial ligament in a Germany’s final Euro 2025 qualification match before the Olympics. In her place will be Wolfsburg midfielder Janina Minge, with Eintracht Frankfurt defender Pia-Sophie Wolter being added to the alternates list.
In: Vivien Endemann & Bibiane Schulze
With just nine caps between them, Endemann and Schulze have proven themselves bolters even in what appears an inexperienced squad, six of which are 24 or younger.
Selected by Hrubesch after a strong 2023-24, during which she scored 15 goals in 28 appearances, Wolfsburg striker Endemann finished the season as her side’s second-leading goalscorer behind Polish phenom Ewa Pajor. The heir apparent to Alexandra Popp at just 22 years of age, cynics would point to the young Endemann’s inclusion as further evidence of Germany’s state of flux, but to ignore her incredible season just passed would be to rob her of all context around her selection.
A product of the Eintracht Frankfurt youth system having grown up in the surrounding state of Hessen, Schulze has spent the past five seasons in Spain at both her home club of Athletic Club in Bilbao and on loan at Atletico Madrid. Eligible under Athletic Club’s Basque-only signing policy through her great-grandfather, Schulze was selected for the Spain squad in 2023, only for injury to force her withdrawal before making her Germany debut in 2024.
One To Watch: Sjoeke NĂĽsken
A multi-sport athlete as the top-ranked junior tennis player in all of Germany, Chelsea midfielder NĂĽsken began focusing on football at age 11, and played in her local boys team until signing for Eintracht Frankfurt at 18. Having represented Germany at every level of youth football, NĂĽsken made her debut for the senior international team in February 2021, scoring her first goal in a 5-2 win against Australia two months later. Now a key member of Chelsea’s midfield rotation, NĂĽsken showed herself as a goalscoring threat alongside a classy distributor, scoring a hat-trick against Brighton as well as important goals against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.
United States
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Olympic Appearances: Seven (all editions)
Best Finish: Gold Medal (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012)
Big Outs & Bolters
Out: Alex Morgan & Becky Sauerbrunn
Newly-appointed manager Emma Hayes has swung the axe and swung hard, the highest-profile casualties being former captains Morgan and Sauerbrunn, players who featured in each of the USWNT’s last three international tournament victories and have earned nearly 450 caps between them. Despite being 35 and 39 years old respectively, both Morgan and Sauerbrunn featured at the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup, with Sauerbrunn missing the 2023 Women’s World Cup with a foot injury while Morgan featured in each match before the side’s elimination in the Round of 16.
In: Jaedyn Shaw & Korben Albert
The first Vietnamese-American to ever represent the USWNT, Jayden Shaw is part of a growing number of players to shun college soccer in favour of nominating directly for the NWSL draft at age 18. Despite committing to the University of North Carolina and training with Paris Saint-Germain, Texas-born Shaw signed with San Diego Wave at 17 after the NWSL updated its age-limiting regulations, becoming the second-youngest player in league history only days later. A genuinely two-footed striker, Shaw has alternated between leading the line and playing as a #10 under former manager Casey Stoney, winning both the 2023 NWSL Shield and 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup in her first 18 months of senior football, as well as being named the best player at the Gold Cup.
By complete contrast, Illinois native Albert starred for Notre Dame for two seasons in NCAA Division 1, being nominated for the Hermann Trophy for America’s best college player in 2022. Turning pro at 18, Albert signed for PSG in 2023 and worked her way into the Parisiennes’ starting XI over the next year, starting 19 of her club’s 31 matches in 2023-24. A box-to-box midfielder, Albert has cemented her place in PSG’s three-player midfield, and has seemingly transferred that dominance across to the USWNT after being selected to start in the team’s second friendly against South Korea in June 2024.
One To Watch: Sophia Smith
Arguably the NWSL’s hottest property, Portland Thorns striker Smith has seemingly taken the torch from Alex Morgan as the USWNT’s leading attacking weapon. With 16 goal involvements in 14 league matches (10 goals and six assists) and four in four matches for her national team, Smith’s finishing and vision are among the attacking arsenal that saw her drafted first overall at the 2020 NWSL Draft after winning the NCAA national championship the year prior.
Zambia
Olympic Appearances: One (2020)
Best Finish: Group Stage (2020)
Big Outs & Bolters
Out: Grace Nali & Agness Musase
Based in Greece playing for first-division club OFI, Grace Nali missed selection for the 2023 Women’s World Cup after rupturing her ACL immediately before the tournament. Initially replaced by Leticia Lungu, Nali’s place has been shared between a number of younger, less experienced players as she aims to rehabilitate her injury ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Unlike Nali, Lusaka-based Musase has missed out on selection, despite featuring in each of Zambia’s three 2023 Women’s World Cup matches and the 2018 Women’s African Cup of Nations. Alleged to have been among the ringleaders of the player-lead movement for increased payment transparency at the Women’s World Cup, Musase hasn’t featured for the Cooper Queens since that tournament, though the effect of her absence is yet to be tested in international competition.
In: Esther Siamfuko & Pauline Zulu
Aged just 19, Siamfuko will look to make her Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Games as part of a four-woman contingent from Lusaka club Green Buffaloes. Having earned just seven caps for her nation, Siamfuko is one of two teenagers in an already inexperienced squad, more than half of which have featured 10 or fewer times for the Copper Queens.
Her fellow teenager Zulu, also 19, plies her trade for rival club Lusaka Dynamos, helping her club to a fourth-placed finish in 2022-23. More likely to feature as a substitute than a starting player due to her international experience, central defender Zulu will become the first Lusaka Dynamos player in club history to compete in Olympic football should she make an appearance.
One To Watch: Barbra Banda
Described by USWNT manager Emma Hayes as “the most in-form striker in world football”, Banda has shown herself to be a force of nature both on the international stage and for NWSL club Orlando Pride since joining the team in 2023. A powerful frontwoman with a knack for finding space, Banda wrote herself into the FIFA record books in 2023, scoring the 1000th Women’s World Cup goal in her side’s 3-1 group-stage win against Costa Rica. Now a well-known player in the international game, Banda holds the key to Zambia’s progress at the Paris 2024 tournament, as her team aim to become the first African nation to reach the knockout stage in women’s Olympic football history.
