Women's World Football

The United States women's national team delivered one of its worst performances at an international tournament on Wednesday. 

The USWNT was stunned by Sweden in a 3-0 defeat to open up group play at the Tokyo Olympics. 

Sweden entered the tournament as the only side to score a goal on the USWNT in 2021, and it added to its haul against the Americans three times in a stunning upset. 

The manner in which Sweden defeated the USWNT sent shockwaves through the 12-team competition. The USWNT should still qualify for the eight-team knockout round, but it proved to be more vulnerable than first thought. 

Brazil, the Netherlands and Great Britain reinforced their statuses as medal contenders with big wins. The Dutch delivered the biggest win with a 10-3 rout of Zambia. 

If Sweden hadn't dismantle the USWNT, Japan's come-from-behind draw versus Canada may have received more headlines. Japan recovered from a missed penalty kick in the second half to pull out a late equalizer and a point on home soil against one of the top sides in the world. 

Wednesday Olympic Soccer Results

Group E 

Great Britain 2, Chile 0

Japan 1, Canada 1

Group F 

Brazil 5, China 0

Netherlands 10, Zambia 3

Group G

Sweden 3, United States 0

Australia 2, New Zealand 1

Sweden 3, United States 0

The USWNT looked uncharacteristically poor over 90 minutes versus one of its top rivals for the Olympic gold medal. 

Stina Blackstenius took advantage of poor marking by the USA defense to slot home the first two goals of the contest. The 25-year-old forward got in front of Abby Dahlkemper to head home the opening tally from close range in the 25th minute, and she added her second nine minutes after halftime by converting a rebound that came back off the post.

Lina Hurtig delivered the final blow to the American defense in the 74th minute. With the way the USA played, it is lucky that Sweden's lead didn't grow further. 

Vlatko Andonovski's side sits at the bottom of Group G after one round of play with a minus-3 goal differential that needs to be made up against Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand's stoppage-time goal on Wednesday did not prevent it from losing, but it could play a major role in determining the tiebreakers in Group G. 

After the match, Megan Rapinoe delivered a blunt assessment of the USWNT's poor effort, per Andrew Keh of the New York Times. "We got our asses kicked, didn't we?" she said. "I thought we were a little tight, a little nervous, just doing dumb stuff."

The good news for the USWNT is it has the potential safety net of potentially advancing as a third-place team from Group G. 

The short turnaround of the Olympic tournament should help the USWNT erase the awful result from its memory. New Zealand is next up on Saturday. The complexion of the group could completely change if three points are earned and Sweden and Australia play to a draw in the other Group G match. 

Japan 1, Canada 1

Things can only get better for the North American women's sides in Tokyo.

Canada let in a late equalizer to the host nation to spoil what would have been a solid opening victory. It started so well when Christine Sinclair scored her 187th international goal in the sixth minute to finish off one of Canada's first attacking moves. 

However, goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe needed to save a penalty kick for Canada in the 54th minute as the team's fortunes changed in the second half. 

Labbe was then forced off with an injury, and backup goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan out of position in the 84th minute for the equalizer. A long pass over the top of the Canadian defense found Mana Iwabuchi, and her early strike from just outside the box beat a retreating Sheridan at the near post. 

Japan's late leveler put Great Britain in the driver's seat to win Group E. Team GB rolled past China through a pair of goals from Ellen White. 

Great Britain will play Japan next, while Canada will chase its first win of the tournament against Chile, which is viewed as the weakest of the four squads in the group. 

FIFA released the draws for the women's soccer tournament at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The tourney will feature three stacked groups, including a Group G headlined by the United States and Sweden:

USA has won gold in four of the six Olympics a women's soccer tournament has been held. The other two teams to have won gold—Germany and Norway—did not qualify for the Olympics.

The United States could have its hands full with the Swedes in group play, as Sweden was the runner-up to Germany at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Group G is the only one with two teams in the top five of the FIFA women's world rankings, as Team USA are No. 1 and Sweden is No. 5.

The group also boasts a third top-10 team in No. 9 Australia, while New Zealand will be the heavy underdog of the group as the No. 22 team in the world.

Arguably Team USA's two biggest rivals reside in Group E in the form of Canada and Japan. The close proximity between the United States and Canada has always made their matches feel meaningful, while the U.S. has faced Japan in the Women's World Cup final twice and the Olympic gold medal game once, going 2-1 overall.

No. 8 Canada and No. 11 Japan are grouped with Great Britain and No. 37 Chile in Group E.

Group F has a pair of top-10 teams in No. 3 Netherlands and No. 7 Brazil, plus a Chinese team ranked 14th in the world.

Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Team USA beat the Netherlands in the 2019 Women's World Cup final. Meanwhile, the United States scored arguably the biggest win in national team history over China in the 1999 World Cup final on a Brandi Chastain penalty kick.

The most unheralded team in the tournament is part of Group F as well in the form of African side Zambia.

Zambia is the No. 104 team in the world, making it the only team outside the top 40 to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

There are intriguing storylines galore heading into the Olympic tournament, but most eyes will unquestionably be on Team USA as they look to win their fifth Olympic gold and bounce back after flaming out in 2016.

The Brazilian soccer federation announced that the women's national team will receive equal daily payments and FIFA World Cup prize money proportions from this point forward, per sportswriter Grant Wahl:

Per BBC News, CBF President Rogerio Caboclo says the new policy has been in place since March. As noted by Nicholas Mendola of Pro Soccer Talk, Brazil's women's team played three matches that month as part of the 2020 Tournoi de France.

Brazil has not played since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have qualified for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which have been pushed to the summer of 2021.

Brazilian manager Pia Sundhage offered comments on the policy change.

"This is historic. Being a part of this is very special, I'm very grateful," Sundhage said, per Rodrigo Almonacid of Barron's.

Per Almonacid, the Brazilian professional league "authorized equal prize money for women and men" last year.

The news comes amid the United States women's national soccer team's ongoing fight for equal pay with U.S. Soccer, which have gone to court.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the women's team's claims in May, stating that "the WNT (Women’s National Team) has been paid more on both a cumulative and an average per-game basis than the MNT (Men’s National Team) over the class period," per Reuters.

They were denied the opportunity for an immediate appeal but may do so on Sept. 15, when their claims "including unfair medical services, travel and training" will go to trial.

Brazil withdrew from consideration to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup because of financial uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Mauricio Savarese of the Associated Press reported Monday the Brazilian Football Confederation also released a statement in support of fellow South American country Colombia to host the 2023 tournament. Japan and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand are the other finalists.

The confederation said it "understands the position of caution of the Brazilian government, and of other public and private partners, which stopped them from formalizing the commitments within time or in the required form," per Savarese.

Brazil has reported over 691,000 COVID-19 cases with more than 36,000 deaths as of Tuesday morning, according to the World Health Organization.

The confederation's statement also referenced the financial commitment to other major sporting events recently held in the country, led by the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, as an issue in trying to fund the 2023 Women's World Cup.

Brazil made the decision ahead of a June 25 vote by the 37-member FIFA Council to choose the tournament's host.

Neither South America nor Oceania has ever hosted the Women's World Cup, which is held every four years. Asia hosted the event twice (China in 1991 and 2007).

France hosted the 2019 competition, which saw the United States defeat the Netherlands in the final to capture its second consecutive championship.

The 2023 tournament will see the number of teams increase from 24 to 32.

The United States women's national team need just a win or a draw against Japan on Wednesday to lift the SheBelieves Cup for a third time.

The world champions have enjoyed victories over England and Spain so far to sit three points clear at the top of the table with maximum points.

The USWNT go into the match as heavy favourites to win. They are on a 30-match unbeaten run and face a Japan side yet to pick up a point at the tournament.

Date: Wednesday, March 11  

Time: 8 p.m. ET/12 p.m. GMT

TV Info: TUDN (U.S.), BBC Red Button (UK)

Live Stream: TUDN En Vivo (U.S.)

Odds (via Oddschecker): USA 1-7, Draw 11-2, Japan 11-1

Match Preview

The USWNT only need a point against Japan to clinch the title, but Christen Press has made it clear that the world champions never want to settle for a draw.

The 31-year-old spoke to Grant Wahl at Sports Illustrated about her team's mentality after they scored a late goal to beat Spain 1-0 on Sunday:

"To be honest, I think that this whole group never thinks it's going to be a tie. It's 85th minute, 0–0, and we're thinking we're going to win. And it's just about when and how. I think we all carry that. We play with that. I never thought for a second we were going to tie the game."

Press is enjoying life under new USA head coach Vlatko Andonovski, and she has highlighted her quality again at the tournament to put the hosts on the brink of more success.

The Utah Royals forward started off with a brilliant goal to open the scoring in a 2-0 win over England, bending a shot past goalkeeper Carly Telford from outside the penalty area, via ESPNW:

Press then followed that up with an assist for Julie Ertz to score the late winner in a tough encounter with Spain.

Goal's Seth Vertelney highlighted how effective Press has been this year:

Another victory on Wednesday looks the most likely outcome against a Japan side that have only scored once in their two games at the tournament through Mana Iwabuchi:

Th 26-year-old's goal stole the show against Spain and was Japan's brightest moment of a disappointing tournament.

Iwabuchi has the talent to cause the USWNT problems and arrived at the tournament in good form for the national team with six goals in five games since the FIFA Women's World Cup last summer.

However, it's going to need something special to end the home side's dominance, and Andonovski's team have the quality, experience and belief to pick up more silverware.

The United States and England women's national teams will kick off their 2020 SheBelieves Cup campaign on Thursday in Orlando, Florida.

England are the defending champions after beating two-time winners USA to the trophy last year. The world champion Stars and Stripes are this year's favourites in a strong field that also includes Japan and Spain.

Kick-off between the USWNT and the Lionesses is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET/12 a.m. GMT (Friday). The match will be broadcast on BBC Two (UK) and ESPN 2 (U.S.).

If recent history between these two teams is any indication, Thursday's clash should be a nail-biter. Five of the six previous meetings have ended in a one-goal win, with the lone exception being a 2-2 draw in last year's SheBelieves Cup.

That draw set England on the path to a tournament win, as they finished two points ahead of the Americans. The Stars and Stripes got their revenge at the FIFA Women's World Cup, though, courtesy of a dramatic 2-1 win in the semi-finals:

That defeat started a slide for the Lionesses, who also lost to Sweden in the third-place match and haven't played up to their level since. They won only two more matches during the rest of 2019 and lost to Norway, Brazil and Germany.

Their next opponents are on a 28-match unbeaten streak, winning all but one of their matches in 2019. The new year has also been good for the USWNT, who have had a dominant showing at the CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers.

The team outscored their opponents 25-0 in the tournament, culminating in a 3-0 win over Canada in the final:

Canada gave the U.S. a good test in the first half before succumbing to the pressure after the break. England should provide a sterner challenge for head coach Vlatko Andonovski and his side, who will also face Brazil and Australia in their Olympic preparations.

England have traveled to the United States with a relatively young team, including several newcomers to the squad. Everton's Sandy MacIver, West Ham's Grace Fisk and Alessia Russo of the North Carolina Tar Heels could all earn their first caps.

Ellen White is the team's most prolific scorer, while Toni Duggan and Jill Scott are among the Lionesses' most experienced players.

There are no rotations in the USWNT's selection, with a limited amount of Olympic spots available to the deepest squad in women's football. Alex Morgan remains sidelined due to her pregnancy, and regulars Allie Long and Morgan Brian were again left off the roster. Mallory Pugh returns after missing out on the Olympic qualifiers.

Prediction: USA 1-1 England

Abby Wambach's reign as the leading international goal scorer has ended.

Christine Sinclair scored her 185th goal, surpassing Wambach's 184, as the Canadian National Team faced Saint Kitts and Nevis in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying on Wednesday. 

In the 23rd minute, Adriana Leon played a pass into Sinclair near the penalty spot, where she collected it before burying it in the bottom left corner. The 36-year-old was immediately mobbed by her teammates. 

Wambach took to Twitter shortly after her record fell to congratulate her one-time rival. 

"Christine: History is made. Your victory is our victory. We celebrate with you." Wambach posted. "And to every girl coming up in the Pack with a dream to achieve that which doesn’t yet even exist: We believe in you. Your Pack is with you. And history awaits you."

Wambach retired from international competition in 2015 after leading the United States Women’s National Team to the World Cup title earlier that year.

Sinclair, who plays club football for the NWSL's Portland Thorns, is looking to lead Team Canada to its fourth straight appearance in the Olympics. The Canadians have earned a bronze medal in each of their last two appearances.

Brazil earned an impressive friendly win over England on Saturday, running out 2-1 victors at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough. 

The first half saw the hosts control long spells of the game and create the better chances, but manager Phil Neville's players were profligate with their opportunities.

The second period saw the Selecao improve, and Debinha was twice able to capitalise on poor defending to give Brazil a two-goal lead.

Bethany England gave the home side hope of snatching a draw when she guided a header home with 10 minutes remaining, but they'd left themselves too much to do in the final stages.

Following the FIFA World Cup, both countries are starting their preparations for the Olympics next summer in Tokyo, where they will each be expected to challenge for medals.

Following England's run to the semi-finals of the World Cup in France, Rob Harris of the Press Association picked up on the amount of interest in the women's game in the country:

With a sold-out attendance at the Riverside roaring on the home team, it was no surprise to see England start the quicker of the two teams.

The Lionesses were able to pin back Brazil at times, with Jordan Nobbs and Jill Scott in control in midfield.

Beth Mead was also a major threat on the left flank and should have put her team ahead at the end of a mazy run:

Before the break, Nobbs' pinpoint cross was just out of the reach of Mead, meaning Brazil clung on to parity at half time. 

In the second half, England were made to pay for their wastefulness, as the South Americans emerged from the dressing room with much more intent.

Within four minutes of the restart, the visitors were in front. After some tricky wing play from Tamires and a pinpoint cross, Debinha escaped the attentions of the England defence.

Her header lacked venom, although it somehow squirmed through the grip of Mary Earps:

The goal sapped the energy out of the England players and the capacity crowd, allowing Brazil to finally get a grip on the game. 

On 67 minutes, they gave the home side a mountain to climb. Neville will be disappointed with the defending, but Debinha was again the quickest to react in the penalty area, and her effort deflected off Steph Houghton and beyond Earps:

Kieran Theivam of The Athletic commented on how the Brazil forward has stepped up a level since the World Cup:

With time running out, the Lionesses did start to play more direct, and they gave their supporters some hope of a fightback late on when England headed home from Houghton's long ball.

The home side pushed for an equaliser with the clock ticking down. The closest they came was through Lucy Staniforth, who saw her effort clawed away by Brazil goalkeeper Barbara in the final minute.

What's Next?

England are back in action on Tuesday when they visit Portugal. Brazil will continue their European doubleheader in Poland on the same night.

England welcome Brazil to Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium for an international friendly on Saturday.

Arsenal star Jordan Nobbs returns to the Lionesses fold after a serious knee injury forced her to miss the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

England made it to the semi-finals in France, losing to the United States. Brazil, meanwhile, were beaten by the hosts in the last 16.

Date: Saturday, October 5

Time: 12:45 p.m. BST, 7:45 a.m. ET

TV: BBC One

Stream: BBC iPlayer

Preview

England face a stiff test against the South American champions, with both nations focusing on their post-World Cup ambitions.

Brazil arrive after triumphing at the International Women's Football Tournament, winning the invitational competition for a seventh time after beating Chile on penalties after a goalless draw in the final.

Phil Neville's team came close to making the World Cup final, but the English have gone four games without a win in all competitions.

The semi-final defeat to the U.S. in France was followed by a 2-1 loss to Sweden in the third-place play-off. Two international friendlies since have not fallen England's way, with a 3-3 draw against Belgium followed by a 2-1 loss to Norway.

Neville will want to see more from his squad after an exciting summer, and the manager said he's pleased his team will be tested by one of football's greatest nations, per the FA's official website:

"It is great to be able to have secured this fixture against such opposition. I know a lot of work has gone into making it happen.

"Brazil will provide a different test to the other games we have lined up over the coming months, and it is always a special occasion when our two countries meet.

"I am also delighted that we will be playing in the north-east, a real footballing hot-bed that has produced so many of our players over the years."

The Selecao last met the Lionesses in March at the SheBelieves Cup, and England defeated Brazil 2-1 on their way to winning the competition.

Nobbs' return will be a highlight for England fans, and the County Durham-born player will want to impress if she features. The 26-year-old has recovered from anterior cruciate ligament damage and should be one of her country's most important players in the buildup to the 2021 UEFA Women's Championship.

England face Portugal in a friendly on Tuesday, and Neville will demand a victory and strong performance at the Riverside on Saturday to avoid going into that game winless in five.

The United States Women's National Team play the first of two international friendlies against Portugal on Thursday at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. 

The world champions are on a five-match victory tour after their success at the 2019 FIFA World Cup in France and will play in front of a record crowd for a stand-alone friendly of over 44,100.

The USWNT kicked off their tour with a comfortable 3-0 win over Ireland at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on August 4.

Date: Thursday, August 29

Time: 7 p.m. (ET), 12 a.m. (BST, Friday)

TV Info: Fox Sports 1 (U.S.)

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go (U.S.) 

Match Preview

The Stars and Stripes were deservedly crowned world champions in France and can expect plenty of support when they take on Portugal:

Manager Jill Ellis has called up North Carolina Courage forward Kristen Hamilton and Chicago Red Stars defender Casey Short to the squad for the two matches against Portugal. The second fixture takes place on Sunday at the Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota:

The United States manager, who has announced her decision to step down from the post after the victory tour, explained why she has called up the duo, per USSoccer.com.

"With the injuries we currently have to several World Cup players, and with two of our main priorities on the Victory Tour being spreading around the minutes and keeping players healthy for their clubs during this critical playoff push, it made sense to call in Casey and Kristen to give us options and depth for these games against what will be a tough Portugal team."

World Cup Golden Boot winner Megan Rapinoe is just one of several players who could miss the game. The striker has joined Alex Morgan, Kelly O'Hara, Mallory Pugh, Alyssa Naeher, Rose Lavelle, Morgan Brian and Tierna Davidson on the injured list, per Mitchell Northam at Pro Soccer USA.

The injury situation could allow Hamilton to win her first cap after an impressive campaign. She has racked up eight goals to help North Carolina Courage into second place in the National Women's Soccer League; only Christine Sinclair and Sam Kerr have scored more.

Despite all the injuries the USWNT will still be expected to beat Portugal. The team have a 100 per cent record in their seven matches against Thursday's opponents but will be aware the visitors are on the up.

Portugal did not qualify for the 2019 World Cup but have lost just two of their last nine matches since their last defeat to the United States in November 2018.