| Head Coach: | Vlatko Andonovski | Group: | G |
| Confederation: | CONCACAF | Ranking: | 1 Highest 1 (Current) Lowest 2 (2014) |
| Federation: | U.S. Soccer Federation | ||
| Social Media: |    |
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Leading into the Tokyo Olympics, the US Women’s National Team is on the cusp of making history: no team has ever won an Olympic gold medal after winning the World Cup the year before.
Okay, we’ll put an asterisk on that, considering the last Women’s World Cup was in 2019 and the 2020 Summer Olympics were pushed to 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. Still, it’s a great story and women’s football deserves a great story, especially when it concerns the USWNT.
While many Olympic sides are finding their footing after a year off, the USWNT is hitting their stride and picking up right where they left off after lifting the Women’s World Cup in 2019.
How have they done it? Playing consistently. Most of the national team players have continued to compete in the FA WSL or in the NWSL, allowing many to keep training and playing in high-level environments. Competitive league play has combined with a rigourous national team schedule – numerous camps and 12 matches since January 2021 – to produce a deep pool of match-fit, world-class players. This group are hungry to make history and set to thrive under the pressure that entails.
The difficulty in winning the World Cup and Olympics in continual years is because (as most players will tell you) it’s extremely difficult to play a major tournament in a foreign country, then turn around the following summer to do it again. Not to mention, the Olympics pose a more strenuous schedule. Enter a pandemic that has given FIFA’s #1 ranked team a year to gather their bearings and the opportunity to keep playing in a limited, yet controlled setting and you have a recipe for success – asterisk be damned!
So, it’s no surprise that the USWNT are the heavy favourites to win the Olympics in Tokyo. After all, making history is something the USWNT revels in. Mix in seasoned veterans Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Kelly O’Hara, Becky Saurerbrunn, and Alex Morgan (to name a few) with young guns Rose Lavelle, Kristie Mewis, and Tierna Davidson (to name a few more) and you have a team that is ready to steamroll through their group and all the way onto the championship podium.
Squad
Goalkeepers
- Jane Campbell
- Adrianna Franch
- Alyssa Naeher
Defenders
- Abby Dahlkemper
- Tierna Davidson
- Crystal Dunn
- Casey Krueger
- Kelley O’Hara
- Becky Sauerbrunn
- Emily Sonnett
Midfielders
- Julie Ertz
- Lindsey Horan
- Rose Lavelle
- Catarina Macario
- Kristie Mewis
- Sam Mewis
Forwards
- Tobin Heath
- Carli Lloyd
- Alex Morgan
- Christen Press
- Megan Rapinoe
- Lynn Williams
The #Tokyo2020 #USWNT Olympic Roster is ! ⚽️#OneNationOneTeam #RoadToTokyo
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) June 23, 2021
Coach
The coach sets this USA Olympic team apart from the 2019 WWC team. In October 2019, Vlatko Andonovski took the reins from head coach Jill Ellis and was undefeated until a draw with Sweden in April 2021.
Andonosvski came to the USWNT without any prior national team experience. After spending most of his managerial career in Kansas City, first with Kansas City Comets (a men’s indoor soccer team) and then at FC Kansas City of the NWSL, Andonosvski took over for Laura Harvey at Seattle Reign in 2018.
At the time of this writing, Andonosvski has a winning percentage of 60.43% for both club and country. While Andonosvski has proven himself as someone who players love playing for, he has yet to be tested and criticized for his roster choices (as was often the case for Ellis). However, it is only a matter of time, since the most difficult part of his job is picking the lineup.
Last Olympics
On the quest for their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the 2016 Rio Games, the USWNT were stunned when Sweden shut the champions down, preventing them from making it out of the qualifiers.
Sweden knock out favourites USA
2016 would mark the first time in USWNT history that they would fail to medal in the Olympics, much less not even make it out of the quarterfinals.
As the worst-ever Olympic exit by the team, many current US players hold on to that experience with heartbreak and embarrassment which they will continue to use as a motivating factor.
History shows that it only takes one big loss to light a fire under this team that can last for a generation.
Qualifying Path
The 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifiers took place in January, right before the imminent shut down due to. . . well you know.
The Olympic Qualifiers are always just a formality, with the USA usually ploughing through teams, such as Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago. The last time the USA lost during the Olympic Qualifiers was in 2010 in a historic upset by Mexico. Another stinging loss the team vows never to repeat again. See the pattern?
In 2020, the world champs went 6-0 in the Concacaf Qualifiers and won the tournament in a 3-0 final against Canada, who also qualified with a 2nd-place finish.
Read more: Canada Olympic Preview
The Strengths
Physicality and a deep player pool are the two biggest strengths for the USWNT. Sure, there are other teams that can match up with their talent, but by the end of 90 minutes, there’s no team more fit, fresh and ready to battle on.
Attacking is the key for the USWNT and they have plenty of weapons upfront. These include the usuals and some you might forget about, such as Christen Press, Lindsey Horan and Lynn Williams. Not to mention, defenders such as Crystal Dunn are also scoring threats.
The Challenge
The USWNT are slotted in Group G with FIFA #5 ranked Sweden, #9 ranked Australia, and #22 ranked New Zealand. There’s no doubt that Sweden is their biggest threat in the group.
In a recent friendly, Sweden was winning 1-0 in the last minutes, when a suspect foul was called, resulting in a Rapinoe penalty kick to tie it up. Remember, it was the Swedes who knocked the USWNT out of the Olympics in Rio.
And of course, there’s always the Matildas, who beat the USA on their home soil in the inaugural Tournament of Nations back in 2017. Plus, many of the Matildas have torn down the mystic of playing against the World Champions by competing against and alongside them on a consistent basis in both the NWSL and FA WSL. Oh yeah, and have you heard of Sam Kerr?
Are the USA women worried about sharing the group with two formidable opponents? Hardly. Remember, this is the USWNT! They have four stars over their crest and four Olympic Gold medals in their trophy case. Get this band of superstars on a worldwide stage and they know how to put on a show!
Key Player – Alex Morgan
It’s no surprise that the key player on this team is Alex Morgan. She doesn’t wear the captain’s armband much, but she’s the leader of the team and when she’s hot, the whole team follows suit.
Coming into the Olympics, the 31-year old is probably in the best shape of her life (there’s something about having a baby), more confident than ever, and harbouring a weird obsession with winning.
Morgan’s national team stats (as of May, 2021):
- Appearances: 175
- Goals: 109
- Assists: 43
International Awards:
- 2012 Olympic Gold Medal
- 2015 Women’s World Cup
- 2019 Women’s World Cup
Club International:
- 2016/17 UEFA Women’s Champions League (Lyon)
Club Domestic:
- 2016/17 Féminine Div 1 Championship (Lyon)
- 2016/17 Coup de France Féminine (Lyon)
- 2013 NWSL Championship (Portland Thorns FC)
One to Watch – Catarina Macario
The Tokyo Olympics will be Catarina Macario’s first major tournament with the national team, only months after earning her US citizenship. After the Brazilian-born attacker left Stanford University early in 2020, Macario signed a lucrative contract with Lyon of Féminine Div 1, where she currently plays.
Traveling with the team to her first major tournament will be a learning experience for Macario and with Heath still recovering from injury, it is possible we could see her Olympic debut.
Appearances: 5
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Prediction
Regardless of the challenges they face with Sweden and Australia, the USWNT will have no problem coming out on top of the group. They’re just too fit, over-prepared, and determined to right what happened in 2016.
If they live up to the expectations and win Group G, they will most likely face either the Netherlands or host country Japan. Both are earnest foes who they’ve met in past major tournament finals.
Like it or not, this is the USWNT’s tournament to lose. Anything but a gold medal will be considered a complete and utter failure. It’s the type of pressure that most teams buckle under. For the USWNT, it’s what keeps them winning.
| Date | Local Time | AEST | Venue | Team A v Team B |
| 21/7/2021 | 8:00 PM | >9:00 PM | Tokyo Stadium | Sweden vs USA |
| 24/7/2021 | 8:30 PM | 9:30 PM | Saitama Stadium | New Zealand vs USA |
| 27/7/2021 | 5:00 PM | 6:00 PM | Ibaraki Kashima Stadium | USA vs Australia |
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