Expect Fireworks as France and USA Battle for Olympic Supremacy
The city of Rio has barely had time to recover from a stunning Olympic Games opening ceremony as the second round of fixtures in the women's football tournament get under way on Saturday evening.
Undoubtedly, the biggest game of the day is the meeting between two of the competition's favourites, as France and the United States of America meet in the Olympic Stadium.
Les Bleues were devastated not to win a medal in London four years ago, as discussed in this column, and they will want to use this game to show the world that they are worthy contenders and not just making up the numbers.
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If Wednesday's games were the warm-up, the pressure is cranked up on Saturday with potentially the biggest match of the group stage.
Expectation will be on both sides to win, knowing that victory and the three points will likely see the victor top the group and therefore earn themselves a potentially easier draw in the knockout stage.
It would also mean that victory in the quarter-finals would see the group winner play their semi-final in Rio de Janeiro. After their 6-1 win over Zimbabwe, Germany are the likely opponents for the team that finishes second.
Jill Ellis' side kicked off their Olympics with a steady 2-0 win over New Zealand. Carli Lloyd's header gave the U.S. women's national team a ninth-minute lead, and although they couldn't extend their advantage until early in the second half, the Football Ferns didn't have enough quality to truly trouble Hope Solo's goal.
France came out of the blocks flying against Colombia, something the USA will need to be wary of. Eugenie Le Sommer's cross was diverted into her own net by Carolina Arias after just 90 seconds, then the striker pounced on a rebound from Camille Abily's looping shot to double the lead before the quarter of an hour mark.
Free-kicks from Abily and Amel Majri would seal the 4-0 win and put France in a strong position going into the second game.
The USA are ranked No. 1 in the world, with France ranked No. 3. This is a meeting of two of the best teams in women's football, and many expect the fireworks from Friday night's opening ceremony to continue in Belo Horizonte.
"France is a great, talented team," said USA co-captain Lloyd, per Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl. She added:
"They’ve done well. I think the thing with our team is we can have the extra edge, and I think that’s a mentality. When we put teams on their heels, when we intimidate teams and we bring that mentality, it frustrates teams. It puts them off their game. With France they have all the talent in the world to go all the way, but I think the intimidation factor and the mentality is what we have over many of these teams. We’re able to get the job done.
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Lloyd is right about the difference in mentality. The USA have set the bar in terms of positivity and leading the way in the women's game, whereas France are still questionable when it comes to finally winning a top women's tournament.
Over the past few years, this team has shown that if they score early, they can dominate and beat any team in the world, but when frustrated and held at arm’s length, they struggle to break teams down; and regardless of how much of the ball they have and how many shots they take, they end up capitulating and will often fall to defeat.
Against the USA, you have to take your chances, and that will be the difference on Saturday.
Mentality will be a huge factor, but it will ultimately come down to which team is more clinical in the final third. France have as much talent in the forward line as their opponents, it's just that the U.S. find the net when it matters most.
The other game in Group G may not be as headline-grabbing as USA vs. France, but for Colombia and New Zealand, it is a must-win fixture.
Two of the best-placed third-place teams will advance to the quarter-finals, and one win will give you a chance of qualification. With the other two set to dominate the last set of games, the loser will ultimately be going home.
New Zealand reacted well to going a goal down to the USWNT. Many expected them to collapse after the early goal, but they found their footing and held strong. Coach Tony Readings will be happy with how they organised themselves, but he will be disappointed in the lack of trouble they caused the US defence.
After the match, Readings said, via New Zealand Football:
"We know that we are good enough to come back. Not many teams are good enough to beat the USA at this tournament, I am sure they will go very far into the tournament. We know that this game is gone. We now wipe the slate clean, it’s gone we still learn from it but we don’t dwell on it because the next two games against Colombia and France are very different. We need to move on very quickly.
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Colombia showed very little in their opening fixture against France, stunned by the early goals. However, with players of great quality, such as Lady Andrade, they are no pushovers, and that gives Saturday's game extra spice.
In Group E, we have a similar situation as in Group G, with Brazil and Sweden both having won their opening game and battling for a chance to win the group.
Marta will have to come back down to earth after the forward was one of the eight athletes to carry the Olympic flag at Friday's ceremony.
The 30-year-old, who plays her club football for Swedish club Rosengard, will go head-to-head against team-mate and fellow legendary forward Lotta Schelin. They will be key in who comes out victorious in Rio.
Sweden stuttered against South Africa, scrambling the ball over the line for the 1-0 win. Pia Sundhage's side will need to improve if they want to shock the vibrant home crowd.
Like Colombia vs. New Zealand, South Africa and China will also battle for a vital three points as they kick off Saturday's games in Rio.
In Group F, Australia face an almighty test in Sao Paulo. After their 2-0 defeat to Canada on Friday, they have to take on the impressive Germans. Defeat would see them go into the final group game with no points, and although they still have to play the minnows Zimbabwe, they won’t want their whole tournament coming down to just one game.
Silvia Neid’s team were dominant against the Africans, but they didn’t offer too much of a challenge, and this is the game where we will see just how capable the Germans are of winning a medal in Rio.
The early game in Corinthians Arena gives Canada a great chance to all but secure their place in the knockout stage as they take on the Mighty Warriors. John Herdman’s side shocked Australia with a goal after 19 seconds, and they will hope to build on that and make it two wins out of two, but he knows they have to continue to respect their opponents.
"I shared one of the media articles with the team, just to let them know that this group of women has faced a lot of adversity," said the English coach, via Yahoo Canada, citing a report that the Zimbabwe team had to scramble to get $100 to pay for a medical scan for a star player.
"When you share that with your team, you get a deep sense of respect for your opponent," he continued. "That's adversity. And that makes people strong. I'm sure Zimbabwe will be a tough opponent. They'll have learned from the Germany match and those learnings will be applied in our match."
