USA Stumbled Against Colombia, but It's Their Gold to Lose in Rio

It's not easy being the best team in the world. Expectations rise, and targets are painted on your back. Apart from your own fans and a select few others, everyone is waiting for you to fail. This is no different for the United States women's football team at the Rio Olympics.

However, if you are hoping for them to fall down, it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon.

Jill Ellis' side finished top of Group G with two wins and a draw. They will receive a more favourable route into the semi-finals, yet the 2-2 draw with Colombia in Manaus that has led to some questions over the coach and her decisions. However, we have to look at the last group game as a singular event and one that is unlikely to happen again.

From the moment she picked the starting XI, it felt as if she was underestimating the South Americans. Yes, Colombia had all but been eliminated—bar a goal-difference miracle—but Ellis’ decision to start Megan Rapinoe for a pre-agreed 30 minutes was just bizarre.

Rather than seeing how the game was going to pan out, you are already pencilling in a change midway through the first half. It would have been much simpler to monitor how the game started, settle the team in and try to take the lead. You can then comfortably give the midfielder a good 30 minutes off the bench.

Rapinoe had a mixed half-hour on the pitch, clearly shaking off some cobwebs. There was a reckless tackle that could have seen red, and she was to blame for the free-kick that saw Colombia take the lead.

It's safe to say, it's unlikely she'll start another game in the knockout stage.

That is the first Olympic fixture since 2008 that the four-time gold medallists have failed to win. However, it needs to be put into context.

Colombia were not great. On another day, USA would have easily won that game at least 2-0 and we'd be talking about their invincibility.

Hope Solo, as she admitted, should have done much better with both Colombian goals, especially the first, which went through both her hands and her legs.

"It’s part of the position, and I don’t wish it on anybody," Solo told Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated after the game. "Being a goalkeeper is extremely difficult mentally. But I’ve been around long enough to know that these things do happen. They’ve happened to me before. You just hope they happen few and far between."

She has taken responsibility, and it's not a moment that should be held against her. You only have to look at some of her heroics against France in the second game to see that she is still one of, if not the best goalkeepers in the women's game.

"I have learned to have a short-term memory," Solo continued, "so I’m just going to put this game behind me and move on. Because I think there’s going to be some great football in the coming games, and I’m going to have to come up big and keep our team in it."

The jungle was also a factor. Manaus throws up a different climate than the rest of Brazil, and playing after just two days’ rest, it was clear that the U.S. mantra was just to get a result that secured top spot in the group.

Mallory Pugh's 59th-minute goal gave them a 2-1 lead and meant Colombia would have to score twice to put them in a position of danger. Catalina Usme managed to level the game in injury time, but that wouldn't be enough to stop the USA finishing in top spot.

According to the official Rio2016 statistics, Colombia only had three shots on target. You would have to be having a particularly awful day at the office to concede three times against that level of threat.

The USA had 16 shots, eight on target. They had 66 percent possession and won 10 corner kicks. They were dominant in the Amazonia Arena, and on another day, it would have been three points instead of just one.

Now we go into the knockout stages of the competition, and the last time someone beat the U.S. outside the group stage was for the gold medal in 2000.

Their mentality, their talent and their will to win means that they just don't know how to lose when it matters. That's why they are still a step ahead of every other country and why they are the favourites to lift gold again this year.

In front of Solo, the defence has been excellent. Becky Sauerbrunn is leading the way, covering any gaps she sees, playing as a superb one-on-one defender. Against France, she was one of the main reasons they came out victorious.

Allie Long has stepped into the starting positions this tournament and is doing a fantastic job. She keeps possession well, is a key distributor of the ball and happily makes the USA's midfield tick.

With Morgan Brian beside her for the opening two group games, the partnership worked well. Brian is the stopper and the one to drop back, but she has also shown that she can step forward when needed.

Down the flanks, where Mallory Pugh and Crystal Dunn have been OK, it's Tobin Heath who is capturing the imagination of the Brazilian fans.

With assists against New Zealand and France, it's her direct style and ability to take on defenders that is causing a lot of problems and creating opportunities for the attackers.

Up front, the jury is still out on Alex Morgan. She's scored just one goal so far, and that came against New Zealand. The performance overall against France wasn't good, and so the service to the striker wasn't great. That single goal against the Football Ferns was crucial, though, securing the three points and stopping any chance of a comeback.

It doesn't bear thinking about just where this team would be without the mercurial talents of Carli Lloyd. She scored goals against both New Zealand and France, then set up Crystal Dunn’s equaliser against Colombia—only denied a third goal by the post—before going off the pitch.

For the USA to win the gold, they need to keep Lloyd fit and involved as much as possible. If and when the USA create chances in the final third, with the form she is in, you want Lloyd to be the player with the ball at her feet.

The favourites now take on the very disappointing Sweden in Brasilia, and unless Pia Sundhage's team change everything about their tournament, they shouldn't provide too much of a threat.

A 1-0 win over South Africa, then losing 5-1 to Brazil and a goalless draw against China isn't the sort of form you need to knock the USA out of this tournament.

That could then set up a mouthwatering semi-final match with the hosts Brazil in Rio. That suggests fireworks and a game worthy of the gold medal itself.

You may doubt Ellis' tactics or methods, but she has enough superb quality all over the pitch and on the bench to dominate every team in this competition.

First, their opponents have to stop the USA—that's not an easy task. Then, hoping there are no mishaps from Solo, you have to find a way to put the ball in the net.

It's going to take a very special team to do that in this tournament. Brazil could pose problems, but at this moment, it's USA's gold medal to lose.